


How Can You Look at Me and See Something Good?

by asavoy1019



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:21:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29202009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asavoy1019/pseuds/asavoy1019
Summary: What if Daryl and Carol never saw the black car with the white cross on the back that night? What if the group just moved on to Alexandria without ever finding out what happened to Beth? Months later, heartbreak and joy are brought along to our favorite group, but is it something that Daryl can live with?Warnings are for later chapters.**I do not own The Walking Dead**
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Beth Greene
Comments: 85
Kudos: 131





	1. We’ve all got jobs to do

Daryl woke to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Grumbling to himself that he had slept in, he stumbled his way from his room to the front entry of the house he shared with Rick, Michonne, Carol, Sasha, Carl, and little ass kicker. The rest of their group had taken up residence next door.

He had been hesitant at first when their group had split up into different homes in Alexandria. Didn’t like the idea of them not all being in close quarters. They were further from each other now than they had been at the prison. Something could happen at the other house and be over with before Daryl could even pick up his bow. Even though he knew that was a bit of an overreaction; he was always on high alert when it came to his group and would be over there in a flash. It was still unsettling to him, though.

But things had gotten better lately. Their group had gotten along well, for the most part, with the Alexandrians. Each member of the group had gotten a job and was able to show their worth and talent in areas where needed. Rick took lead of the town after Deanna died. Michonne and Abraham worked together to lead a group that guarded the town. Carol helped keep order of the pantry. Maggie helped to start the crops. Glenn, Sasha, and Rosita were on the crew that made runs. Father Gabriel fixed up the church and returned to his normal the best he could. Eugene was doing whatever the hell he was doing with some electronics. Carl finally got the chance to be a kid again. And then there was Daryl.. Aaron had asked him to scout for newcomers with him. He hadn’t been too keen on the idea at first, but it was a chance for him to be outside the walls and he was able to put his tracking skills to use, so he agreed to the work. Things had been pretty quiet for the past few months, and everyone had settled into their new roles and gotten comfortable in the town. Daryl had even felt comfortable enough to quit sleeping on the couch by the front door with his bow at the ready. He didn’t move far though, just to the first bedroom down the hall.

Opening the door with a yawn, Daryl was greeted by Aaron’s ever-present smile.

“Morning.. ready to head out?” He asked brightly.

“Yeah just give me a minute.. I’ll meet you at the gate,” Daryl grunted, running a hand over his face to clear the sleep.

“Alrighty, see you down there,” Aaron smiled and turned to head back to his car.

Daryl went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee brewing. He wasn’t too big on the stuff, but after being up most of the night going over plans for this and other upcoming trips, he knew he would definitely need it today. While he was waiting for it to finish, he went to his room to change his clothes and grab his gear. Coming out of his room, he met up with Rick coming off the staircase.

“Mornin,” Rick greeted through a yawn.  
“Morning.. got some coffee brewing.”  
“Good deal, thanks. You heading out?” Rick asked, seeing Daryl’s bag and bow by the door. The men walked into the kitchen and Rick grabbed a mug to pour his cup.  
“Yeah.. wanna get there early and keep an eye out before anything starts moving.”  
“Okay.. You think y’all will be back by tonight?”  
“Hope so..,” Daryl shrugged, opening his thermos to pour the rest of the coffee into it.  
“Alright, well stay safe brother,” Rick clapped him on the back as he took his coffee with him and headed back up the stairs. After making a stop in the bathroom, Daryl grabbed his stuff and headed out to the garage to hop on his motorcycle and head down to the front gate.

Pulling up next to Aaron’s car, he put his kickstand down and walked over to throw his bag into the backseat. It would have been smarter to keep the bag with him, but he figured as long as he had his bow, then he could get by if he and Aaron were separated for any reason. He got back on his bike and Aaron sent him a thumbs up to make sure he was ready to go. He gave him a nod then whistled for the gates to be opened. As soon as it opened, Daryl shot off down the road with Aaron closely following.

They had gone over their plans the night before. Aaron, as usual, wanted to go over every detail of their trip with a fine tooth comb; a meet up spot in case they were separated, calls for if either of them were in danger, supplies to be on the lookout for. They had been up half the night before Daryl finally told him he was heading home to get some rest. The plan was to head southwest to Independent Hill. The run crew had given Aaron the heads up that they thought someone might be living in the area because they had made a few trips to the town over the past few weeks and each time they went, there were a few noticeable differences: fresh tire tracks in the mud after a rain, cars that had been moved to clear a path, stores that had been closed up now had wide-open doors with freshly killed walkers outside. After having this brought to their attention, both men agreed it was worth checking out.

Daryl was beyond ready for this ride. Being able to just hit the road and feel the wind on his face felt like a little slice of wild freedom that his caged up soul needed. He loved his family and was happy they were safe behind the walls, but sometimes he just needed to go. To be able to breathe. His heart had been through so much over the past six months or so and being on his bike helped him to just let some of that hurt go. Leave it behind for a little while. It wasn’t anything he was willing to talk about with anyone. _Can’t count on anyone for anything, right?_ No, this was something he just had to deal with on his own, in his own time.

Once they reached the outskirts of town, the men found a side road to park their vehicles on and took to the cover of the woods. It would be ideal for them to catch sight of someone and keep an eye on them for a while before approaching them. Aaron had the charm when it came to the duo, Daryl had the tracking. Aaron also trusted Daryl’s ability to read someone. Quite a few times, they had passed on approaching a group because Daryl had a bad feeling about them. Aaron never questioned him, either. He just accepted it and the pair would head home without giving the wandering group another thought.

Daryl had found a vantage point from right inside the tree line that allowed them to see a large stretch of the main road through town. Figuring this would be the best place for them to camp out for a little while, he turned to Aaron and gave a small upturn of his chin. The pair had gotten proficient at communicating without words. Aaron shrugged his shoulders to say this was as good a place as any, so they both dropped their gear on the ground. Daryl took out his binoculars and turned to start keeping an eye on the town.

The town itself wasn’t very large. It had one main road that contained a couple of gas stations and shopping centers on one end. A large junkyard, a school, and a motel sat on the other end. A few roads branched off from the main strip that had some houses down them, but the town looked like it held just a couple hundred citizens at most during its prime. Now, though, it seemed deserted besides the odd walker here and there. The place was eerily quiet.

Daryl and Aaron sat quietly throughout the rest of the afternoon, not wanting to be spotted first. If someone caught wind of them, they could either be scared off or could feel the need to attack. Not wanting either of those scenarios to play out, they kept themselves tucked away behind the tree line and just observed the empty streets with keen eyes.

The day went by quietly, and Daryl hadn’t seen any evidence that the people Glenn had suspected to be here were still around. He was about ready to see if Aaron wanted to head back soon. The sun was getting close to setting and the nights were getting cooler. The outdoors were still his preferred setting, but Daryl wasn’t about to object to being able to take advantage of a warm bed.

He had just stood up from his spot on a fallen log and was stretching out his sore muscles when he heard the quiet rumble of an engine. Aaron must have heard it at the same time as him, because they both ducked down out of eyesight at the same time. Both of them watched as a black car strolled up from their left, passed them, and continued down the road. The car came to a halt not far from their hiding spot, in front of some building. Daryl couldn’t focus on what building in particular the mysterious car stopped at, though. It was a wonder he could see at all. He felt like someone had just sucker punched him right in the gut. All of his breath left his body, and he couldn’t seem to remember how to get oxygen to go back into his lungs. All he could focus on was the black car itself. In particular, the white cross that was painted across the back of it.


	2. That’s on me..

_The feeling that Daryl had failed Beth and left her to die hadn’t quit nagging at him in the back of his head ever since they had left Georgia. He had wanted to stay and look for her, but he had no clue as to where she could be. That car could have went anywhere that night. The rest of the group had wanted to push on and as shamed as he was to admit it, he went with them because he was afraid to be alone again. He had no clue where he could start looking for Beth and if he had no luck finding her, then he probably wouldn’t be able to track down the group once they left the state. So he followed them out of Georgia and went north, hating himself every step of the way. He hated his family too, for a while. If they would have just given him some time, then he might have been able to track down some kind of a lead._

_He had spent weeks snapping at anyone who talked to him. Had no desire to speak to any of ‘em. Maggie had finally cornered him one night when he was on watch and everyone was asleep, though. He had been sitting against the trunk of a tree, just outside of the glow of their small campfire while everyone else slept, when he noticed Maggie slowly untangle herself from a sleeping Glenn. She stood and dusted herself off before looking around at the tree line. When her eyes fell on Daryl’s faint outline in the shadows, she made her way over to him, gently stepping around the sleeping bodies scattered across the small clearing they were camped out in._

_“Daryl..” she approached him cautiously._

_“What?” He practically growled out at her._

_“This has got to stop,” she said calmly_

_“Hm,” he huffed out._

_“I mean it.. you can’t keep biting our heads off anytime we even look at you.. i know you’re pissed. I get that.. but it hurt all of us to leave-“_

_“Yeah.. ya look real broken up ‘bout it,” he snarled as he cut her off._

_“Screw you.. you don’t get it”_

Screw you.. you don’t get it.

_It sent shivers down his spine._

_God she sounded just like her sister when she said that. It just served to piss him off that much more._

_“No you don’t get it!” He growled out, repeating the same words he had yelled in Beth’s face not too long ago. “How could ya be so willing to just leave ‘er behind? Huh? Tha’s your sister back there somewhere. Bet if it was Glenn that was taken, you’d be draggin us all over Georgia to find ‘im!”_

_“Give us something to go off of then, Daryl,” she said, ignoring his last comment. “We don’t know where she is. Got nowhere to even start looking. If you would have given us a definite direction, then we woulda stuck around to look.”_

_He huffed and looked away from her. He already felt shitty enough as it was, didn’t need her pointing out to him that he had failed Beth. He already felt that shame all on his own. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure if it was everyone else he was pissed off at this whole time, or if it was really just himself. His anger seemed to have reached its breaking point, though, and was making way for the despair that had been building up under the surface._

_She could tell from his demeanor that he had taken her words the wrong way and her shoulders slumped as she took a small step closer, her next words more gentle._

_“Daryl.. it’s not your fault..”_

_“Yeah.. it is-“ he had started to mumble, not being able to look at her._

_“No Daryl, it was the assholes that took Beth-“_

_“She was right there, Maggie-“ his voice not much more than a whisper, his body shaking as he tried to not let the emotion spill out of him. Pinching the bridge of his nose to stop the tears before they could start, he continued “couldn’ta been but ten seconds ahead of me. And she was just gone. Shoulda never sent her out ahead of me. We were a team. That’s on me.”_ _It was the first time he had really spoken about it to anyone other than when he had told them inside the boxcar at Terminus what had happened._

_  
Seeing Daryl this crestfallen had her kneeling down on the ground next to him and reaching out to grab the hand that was pinching his nose. He surprised both of them when he didn’t flinch away from her touch. Instead, he just looked at her and let his shoulders sag._

_“You love her, don’t you?” Her tone isn’t accusing. She doesn’t have fire in her eyes that Daryl would have suspected to come if she had ever muttered that sentence to him in reference to her little sister before. It was just a simple question. Except it wasn’t even a question.. it was more of an observation, really. She could see right through him._

_It wasn’t simple for him to answer that, though. He hadn’t put what he felt for Beth into words yet. He knew he cared about her deeply. More than he had anyone else in his life. Wanted to protect her, but still teach her how to survive. He had never felt so hopeless and lost as he did when he saw that car driving away from him, lights disappearing in the distance no matter how fast or far he pushed himself._  
  


_He only thought his world had crashed when he saw the lifeless eyes of Merle looking up at him as he gnawed on the human remains in his hands. The pain then was nothing compared to what he felt when he thought of the fate that Beth had most likely met. But was that love? He didn’t think he had ever felt the true meaning of it before. Definitely hadn’t said it to another person, that was for sure. After all the shit he had lived through... was he even capable of that emotion?_

_Realizing that Maggie was still waiting for some kind of a response, Daryl just shrugged one shoulder and looked away._

_“I know you’re pissed that we left, Daryl. I promise you, it hurts me too. But we have Eugene now.. and if we can get him to Washington and get this cure going, then maybe the world will be safer for us to go out and find her. She’s strong.. she’s a survivor. You taught her that. I have to believe that wherever she is, she’s surviving. That’s her job. Getting Eugene up north safely is ours. She would understand that.”_

_Daryl looked back over at Maggie. Didn’t she know how much like her sister she was? Headstrong, committed to their decisions, unwavering faith that not all hope was lost.. it was almost too painful to see those qualities coming from her. It took everything in him to not pull his hand from her grasp and go running deep into the forest. Instead, he just looked down at their intwined hands and thought about how disappointed the only other person to have held his hand like this would be at him for treating their family how he had. He gave a small nod of his head to let her know he understood. Beth really would want him to continue on this mission. She wouldn’t want him being this upset over her. He could only hope he had taught her enough._

_Maggie ducked her head to catch his eyes, and whispered encouragingly to him, “And besides, we don’t know where they went Daryl.. maybe they went North too.. maybe we will come across them up there. And if we do, I’ll be right there with you to slaughter every last one of them, ” she said with conviction in her eyes. He had no doubt she meant it._

_The possibility they could cross them had crossed Daryl’s mind as well, but he figured the chances of that happening were slim to none. America was just too big. They could have gone anywhere. But he made his choice right then to stop hating his family for the horribly unfortunate situation they found themselves in. It wasn’t their fault she was gone. He would keep hating himself, but he would do so quietly. They didn’t deserve his lashing out._

_Instead he lifted his head and gave another small nod to her hopeful eyes. She let out a breath of relief. Whether it was because she knew they had come to an understanding and he would stop yelling at everyone, or if she was relieved because she thought Daryl was just ashopeful they would come across Beth up north, he wasn’t sure. He would let her have either of them, though. Girl had been through enough the past few months.. with being kidnapped by his own brother, almost raped by the governor, witnessing her father being murdered by the same man, losing their home, finding out her sister was kidnapped, almost being eaten by cannibals. Shit, they all needed a break, and he hadn’t made life any easier on anyone. So he pulled his hand gently from Maggie’s and patted her knee._

_“Get some sleep, girl.. got a long walk ahead of us,” he told her gently, trying to convey his apologies without having to actually say the words._

_Maggie must have understood because she gave him a gentle smile before standing and going to lay back down next to Glenn._

_It was a few weeks after that night when Daryl came close to killing Eugene. They were so close to Washington when the prick finally admitted that he wasn’t a scientist and that no cure existed. Daryl’s vision had blurred and he saw red when he heard that they had left Georgia.. left Beth, for nothing. He pummeled the bastard into the ground. It had taken Abraham, Rick, and Glenn to pull him off the dumbass. He was pretty sure he had given the asshole a concussion.. but tough shit. He deserved it._

_Aaron had found them three days later._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone else absolutely love when dialogue from the show is used in a different context.. or am I just weird? Haha!! Thank you everyone for all of your kind words! I truly appreciate it!!!!


	3. Maybe they went north too

_ Maybe they went north too. _

Had Maggie been right? It was the same car. Had to be. What are the odds that there had been another black car with a white cross that was still in use this long after the turn? It couldn’t be a coincidence. It just couldn’t.These were the people that had Beth. Daryl was sure of it, and he had to get to them. He had to get to them now. 

From where Aaron stood, he could see the look on Daryl’s face. He had never seen such hatred in someone’s eyes. Daryl lifted his crossbow and started walking briskly away from their hiding spot, straight in the direction of the car.

Daryl couldn’t feel anything other than the blood whooshing through his body, his heart pounding as if it were trying to break free of his body. He couldn’t hear anything either besides the white noise in his ears. His body had went on autopilot the minute he processed what he was seeing. His feet started carrying him forward without him making the conscious decision to do so, not like he would have stopped himself anyway. She could be in that car right now. 

Aaron called out to him, quietly and confused. They never just approached new people without getting a feel for them first. If Daryl had something against these people, it was news to him. 

Needing to know what the hell was going on, Aaron quickly caught up to Daryl when the man hadn’t responded. Grabbing for Daryl’s shoulder, Aaron attempted to stop him before he could reach the edge of the tree line. Instead, he was met with Daryl shoving him away with a “get offa me!” Sensing the hostility in Daryl, Aaron knew the man meant business, but he wasn’t going to back down. He would back Daryl 100%; he trusted the man with his life, but he needed to know what had caused this reaction first. Instead of reaching for Daryl again, Aaron decided his best course of action to stopping Daryl and getting the story out of him was to tackle his friend to the ground. 

It had taken Daryl by surprise when Aaron’s body collided with his and they went toppling down, his bow slipping from his hands. Aaron immediately crawled on top of him and grabbed his arms before Daryl could swing at him or reach for his bow. It was enough to get his attention, though because he finally looked up at Aaron with panicked eyes.

“I gotta get them, man.. I can’t let ‘em get away again!” His voice shaking, along with his whole body.

“Who are they? You gotta talk to me bud,” Aaron responded quietly, hoping they hadn’t already caused enough commotion to alert the mysterious person.. or people.. in the car. 

“They got Beth!” Daryl snapped out at him, trying to buck Aaron off of him. Unfortunately for Daryl, Aaron was stronger than he looked and held on tight.

“Who’s Beth?” Aaron questioned, confused because he hadn’t heard Daryl speak of anyone with that name before.

Daryl stilled under Aaron’s hands. His group hadn’t told the people of Alexandria every detail of their lives that had brought them north. Hell, it wasn’t their business. They didn’t know these people. They just gave the basic details when Deanna interviewed them. Aaron had never pried further into their story as they had settled into the town. He knew there was more to it, but he himself had memories of his own that he liked to keep private. Realizing that Aaron truly had no idea, he quickly spit out, “She.. she’s Maggie’s sister.. she was taken back in Georgia by someone in that same damn car!”

Hearing that, Aaron dropped his guard enough for Daryl to push him off of himself. “Sorry man.. I.. I didn’t know”

Aaron quickly checked their surroundings to make sure they hadn’t brought attention to themselves, from either the living or the dead. Seeing that they were still safe, he looked back to find Daryl gathering his bow from where he had dropped it when he was tackled.

“Daryl you can’t just go waltzing in there. You don’t know how many there are or if more are coming,” he tried to reason.

“They got Beth!” Daryl turned to him with fire in his eyes. 

“I hear you,” Aaron put out his hands to show he wasn’t trying to argue, “but we need a plan.”

“Ya.. plan’s to kill ‘em,” he snarled, walking back and forth like a caged animal. 

“What then? What if Beth isn’t with them? We don’t know where she is,” Aaron tried to reason. 

“I’ll make ‘em tell me,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders, saying he didn’t care what needed to be done. He would do it. 

“Daryl you could be walking into as many as five guys in there-“

“You think I’m afraid of a bunch of assholes who had to kidnap a girl while I was distracted?! While I couldn’t do anything!” He was in Aaron’s face now, fuming. “I’m gonna give those sumbitches somethin they ain’t ever gonna-“ 

A car door slamming had both men turning on the spot in time to see the black car speeding off back down the road. 

“No,” Aaron heard Daryl mumble under his breath right before he took off after the car, giving Aaron no choice but to follow.

“Daryl! Daryl! Stay in the tree line! They might not have heard us!” Aaron yelled out to him as they got closer to the edge of the woods. Daryl didn’t respond to him, but he did turn at the last second to run along the inside of the tree line.

Daryl ran as fast as he could without tripping on the branches and weeds that littered the ground, not bothering to check if Aaron was behind him. He watched as the car slowly got further and further away before it turned and disappeared behind a line of houses down a side road about a half mile away . He pushed his body harder, exiting the tree line and hitting the pavement to allow him to go faster. This couldn’t be happening again. “Please God,” he silently prayed to the man that Beth had been so sure was upstairs. After what felt like eternity, he finally reached the road the car had turned down, only to find it nowhere in sight. 

He came to a stop in the middle of the pavement and looked around at all of the houses to see if maybe it had pulled into one of the driveways. Not seeing it anywhere, he collapsed to his knees, breathing so hard he felt like he would pass out. His world felt like it was being crushed again. How could God be so cruel as to put him this close to finding her, just to have everything ripped away again? He felt his failures wash over him like cold rain as his whole body went numb. Was his life just going to be one torturous moment after another? 

His self-loathing was interrupted, though, as Aaron finally caught up, stopping right behind him. He bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “Nothing?” Aaron questioned, eyes darting around to look at the houses the same as Daryl had done. Daryl stood and rounded on him, face twisted in anger.

“You!” He yelled in his friend’s face, jabbing a finger at him. Aaron’s eyes went wide and he took a step away from him with his hands held up to stop any possible attack.

“Daryl-“

“This’s your fuckin fault! If you wouldnta stopped me, I woulda had his ass!” He hollered, face beat red.

“We didn’t know what we would be walking into-“

“Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!” Daryl turned away, his anger melting back into exhaustion as he looked down the road, hoping the car would magically reappear. 

Aaron took a few minutes for them both to collect themselves before he cautiously approached Daryl and stood next to him, looking down the road. 

“Maybe they didn’t hear us,” he looked to Daryl out of the corner of his eye. He continued on when Daryl didn’t acknowledge him. “They might have just got what they were looking for and went back to their camp.”

Still nothing from Daryl. 

“If it’s the same group Glenn has seen signs of, he thinks they have been here for a coupleweeks.. let’s go back and set up camp. It’s getting too dark. We’ll put the car closer to town so we can get to it quickly.. Maybe they will come back tomorrow.. or we can just go out looking for them. They gotta be close.”

Daryl said nothing as he slowly turned around and began walking towards the setting sun, back to their camp. His shoulders slumped andhis head hung, feeling just as defeated as he had the last time those tail lights disappeared from his view. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, I can’t thank you enough for all of your kind words!


	4. She sounds like a great girl

After retrieving the car and motorcycle and hiding them just down the road from their camp, Daryl set up a small fire to break the chill in the air while Aaron dug around in his pack. Seeing as it was now fully dark out and there wasn’t much to do, Daryl started whittling around with his bow, making sure his arrows weren’t splintered. Knowing it was pointless because he had already checked everything when they were on watch during the day, he went to put it to the side when Aaron quickly walked over to him, pushing something into his line of sight.

“Check this out,” he said, pointing to a spot on the map in his hands. “This is where we are, right?” Daryl looked down at the map and nodded his head in agreement. “Well the car came from this direction,” he said pointing east of them. 

“And? Ain’t nothin’ that way,” Daryl responded, unsure of what Aaron was getting at.

“Yeah, but when it took off, it went west and turned south on this road,” he moved his finger across the map.

Daryl had already known this, which had left him feeling like they had lost their chance. “Yeah,” he grunted out, “means they’re gone.”

“I don’t think so,” Aaron replied, and Daryl could hear the excitement in his voice. He looked over at him and raised an eyebrow to ask what he meant.

“Look.. that road that goes south.. it curves back east after after about three miles. And a few miles after that, it turns and comes back north. The whole road is just one big loop around the town! They’re still here Daryl! They’re just camped out on one of these back roads. We just have to follow this road tomorrow and we will find them. I just know it.”

Daryl took the map from Aaron’s hands and studied it. It did make complete sense what he had told him, but Daryl still didn’t want to get his hopes up. It didn’t stop him from wanting to get up and take his bike around the loop, just to see if he could spot anything, though. Instead, he just nodded as he handed the map back to Aaron with a “yeah.. maybe.”

Aaron went to put away the map and grab a few protein bars for them to snack on, deciding he didn’t want to push Daryl too far. He could tell the man was still upset from the day, and rightly so. He knew he had done the right thing in stopping Daryl from charging in without a plan, but he hoped like hell that he hadn’t caused Daryl to miss his chance at getting Beth back.

After a while, Aaron asked if Daryl wanted him to take first watch. Daryl declined; he was still too wound up to sleep right now, if he would even sleep at all. Aaron was tempted to tell him he needed to rest, but didn’t want to push it. Instead, he pulled his bag under his head to use for a pillow and shut his eyes, leaving Daryl to his thoughts. 

Sitting alone in the quiet, Daryl was trying his hardest to not dwell on the day too much. God, he hoped they hadn’t created enough commotion to cause attention to themselves. He really wanted Aaron to be right. That maybe whoever was in the car had found what they wanted and just went back to their set up. If they had been scared off by Aaron and Daryl and left the little town without a trace, Daryl wasn’t too sure if he would be able to go on living with himself. He didn’t even want to think of the possibility that Beth had been in the car and heard them. What if she heard Daryl’s voice and thought he was coming to rescue her, only to be swept away again? Did she hate him for failing her the first time? The second? If he ever were able to save her, if he could be granted just this one break by God, would she ever be able to forgive him for all she had had to endure because of his screw up that night? Would he even be able to live with himself if he found out what she had possibly gone through? He would move out of Alexandria if he had to. He would give it all up for her, if she didn’t want him around anymore. As long as she was safe, he didn’t care what happened to himself. He was in love with her. He had finally accepted that truth the night Maggie had asked him about it. Nobody would ever be as important as Beth. 

“Do you mind if I ask about her?” Aaron questioned, interrupting his thoughts. Apparently he was having a hard time winding down as well. 

He blinked and saw black spots invade his vision, not realizing he had been staring deep into the fire for so long. He glanced up at the man laying across the fire from him. He knew Aaron wasn’t being nosey, he was only asking because he genuinely cared. Aaron had grown to be someone Daryl cared about, just like Rick and Michonne and everyone else from the group that had left Georgia, minus that dumbass Eugene. Daryl figured if the man was willing to help him track down this car, then the least he could do was answer a few questions, so he shrugged his shoulder in response. 

“You said she’s Maggie’s sister?”

“Ya”

“But you were distracted and that’s how she was taken?”

“Mhm”

“Where was everyone else?” 

Daryl sighed, knowing he would have to give the whole story. 

“We had all gotten separated.. ‘Member how we said we had been stayin’ at the prison?”

Aaron nodded, “yeah, y’all were attacked by that one group. Was that when it happened?”

“Nah.. after.. when we were attacked, we all were scattered in different directions. Hadn’t had a backup plan or nothin’. Was stupid, thinkin nothin could happen to us,” Daryl paused to clear his head, not wanting to lose himself thinking back on yet another thing he blamed himself for. 

He shook his head and cleared his throat before continuing. “Anyway, me and Beth.. we got out together. Spent weeks just trying to survive. Found us a little funeral home to hole up in for a while. She thought we could use it as a home base or somethin.. try to find the rest o’ the group.” One side of his mouth quirked up in as much of a smile as he could muster these days, remembering how hopeful and positive she had been. It quickly faded, though, when he continued. “Somebody else found us first. Set some walkers on the house. They snatched her up when I was surrounded. All I saw was the back of that car drivin off.. I tried tracking’ it for a few days, but there wasn’t a trail anywhere.” Daryl shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat, not wanting to let his emotions get the better of him. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Anyway, wasn’t long after that I found everyone else and they had found Eugene and his people. They wanted to head north, so we did.” 

Daryl hung his head in shame. He couldn’t meet Aaron’s eyes; didn’t want to see if his friend was as disgusted with him as he was in himself. Telling their story out loud just made him more disappointed in their actions. How he had ever agreed to go with them and leave her behind was beyond him.

“What’s she look like?” Aaron questioned gently.

Daryl looked up in confusion. He had expected Aaron to tell him how stupid they were for leaving her. Instead, he wasn’t judging them for their decisions. He seemed to just accept it for what it was.

“Just so I’ll know how to spot her.. just in case,” Aaron clarified.

It made sense, Daryl thought. He didn’t know who the bastards were that had Beth. Didn’t know how many or if they were even all men. He supposed there could be a woman in the group, and he didn’t want Aaron to mistake some bitch for Beth. 

He took a deep breath and sighed, trying to figure out how best to put her into words. Words never really were his strong point.  


“I dunno.. she just.. looks like Beth,” Daryl didn’t want to embarrass himself by explaining that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, but seeing the funny look that Aaron gave him, he figured he had better try.  


“She.. she’s a little younger than Maggie. Long, blonde hair. Always had it pulled back, with a braid in it. Damn girl always was pale, no matter how much time she spent in the sun. Never could put any weight on her, either. Big smile.. She was always smilin’ ..and singin’. Lit up the whole room, no matter how shitty a day we had.” Daryl stopped there, feeling the blush creep up his neck as he realized he hadn’t needed to go into that much detail. Aaron had only asked for a physical description. But, man, it did feel good to just think about the good memories. 

“She sounds like a great girl,” Aaron replied quietly.

Daryl looked over to see a warm smile on his face; one that could he could feel reflecting on his own as he replied, “ya.. she is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again! You are all so great!


	5. Ain’t playin’ no damn game with you

Daryl woke to the distant sound of piano keys being strummed. It was a sweet melody, something that slowly brought you out of your slumber peacefully. He could feel the soft cushions of the bed underneath him. Damn did they feel good on his aching body. Thewarmth of the early morning sun was shining through the window onto the half of his face that wasn’t buried in his pillow. He took his time opening his eyes. He just wanted to rest for once, enjoy this comfy bed and the rare bit of safety he felt being here for some reason. He felt so at peace. He could lay here and listen to that piano play for the rest of his life. 

Her voice was what finally had him standing and stretching, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The sweet sound of her singing echoed throughout the house and drifted softly up the stairs. It carried him out of the room, pulling him down the staircase. 

He never had been big into the drug scene like Merle. He had tried his fair share of narcotics, but none of it had ever left him craving more. Her voice, though.. now that was an addiction he could lose himself in. If she was singing, he had to be near her. Maybe he could stand in the doorway while her back was turned to him and he could just see and listen to her be at peace. He needed to be witness to the happy and content faces she made as she lost herself in her music. The words flowing beautifully from her soul caused a sense of calm that settled deep in his bones. 

As Daryl reached the base of the stairs, the music abruptly stopped. Expecting Beth to be sitting in the foyer at the piano, he rounded the corner, prepared to ask her if everything was alright. Instead, he was met with an empty room.

“Beth?” He called out, thinking she couldn’t have gone far. She was just right here two seconds ago. He crossed the room and entered the small kitchen on the other side. Maybe she had just stopped in favor of grabbing a quick snack. Maybe he could sneak up behind her and give her a little scare that would have her giggling as she smacked his shoulder. The kitchen was empty, though. 

Emergency bathroom trip, maybe? He crossed back through the foyer and knocked on the bathroom door. “Beth?” He called out again. “You in here?” Still no response, so he opened the door to find the bathroom also empty.  


This wasn’t right. Something was really off about this whole thing. “Beth!” Daryl called out. This time the worry was evident in his voice. Surely she would hear his tone and answer him. He crossed the hall to check the parlor, then raced upstairs and checked the rooms up there, both empty. The only other place in the house was the basement, so he ran down the stairs, hollering her name out only to find a completely empty house. Now in a full blown panic, he busted out of the house to check the fields and graveyard surrounding the funeral home. “BETH!” He called over and over, unable to find a trace of her anywhere. 

He was halfway to the tree line, thinking maybe she had ventured into the woods for some damn reason, when the soft sounds of the piano filled the air again. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look back at the home. “What the hell is she playing at?” He said to himself, pissed because she knew better than to play games like this with him. It was too dangerous and he was too old for this hide and seek shit. He turned and quickly made his way back to the house. 

He exhaled a deep sigh of relief, even though he was pissed as hell at her, when Beth’s voice filled the air to accompany the piano strums as he got closer to the porch. He climbed the stairs, ready to yell at her. Shit like this wasn’t funny. 

As soon as his feet crossed the threshold, though, the house went quiet again. “BETH!” Daryl hollered out as he made his way into the foyer, only to find it empty.. again. “This ain’t fuckin’ funny girl!” He called out as he spun around, trying to find any hiding spot she could be using. “Ain’t playin’ no damn game with you!” 

As he darted around the room in search of any trace of her, his eyes landed on the coffin he had slept in their first night in the house. The coffin had been left open the last time he remembered looking at it. Now, it sat closed. He took a step towards it, prepared to throw it open and chew her ass out for worrying him so bad, when he noticed something on top of the closed lid. 

It was a Cherokee Rose. 

Goosebumps broke out all over his body. The air around him suddenly growing ice cold. Something was wrong, very wrong. 

He reached out to open the lid with trembling hands and closed his eyes, his anger replaced with dread as if he already knew the outcome. Like he had already lived through this before.He threw open the lid, and the familiar metallic smell of blood hit his nose as well as the faint smell of decay. Daryl choked out a sob as his eyes opened and landed on Beth’s lifeless face. She could be sleeping, except her eyes were partially open and Daryl could see the blank stare that looked out into nothing. The cushions she was laying on were stained red. The sickly color had come from a gunshot wound right to her heart. 

Daryl hit the ground as he felt his legs give out. His whole body felt cold and numb. He shook as if it were the dead of winter and he was frozen down to his bones. Tears poured out of his eyes as he tried his hardest to breathe, gasping for oxygen but having no success. His stomach churned at the lifeless image of her burned into the backs of his eyelids. Before he knew it, he was doubled over, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the rug beneath his knees. He threw up until nothing else would come out, then continued dry heaving until he felt cramps in his stomach. 

‘This can’t be happening,’ he cried to himself. 

Still able to smell the decay in the air, he forced himself up onto one wobbly leg, then the other, clinging to the side of the coffin with his eyes shut. He had to get the lid closed. He couldn’t bear to see or smell Beth like that. That’s not the scent she was supposed to give off. It was supposed to be flowers that she smelled of. She should have been smiling up at him for her shitty attempt of a joke at scaring him. She was supposed to be singing. He had heard her. She was just alive. 

A hand covered his, and for a moment Daryl thought maybe he had been wrong. Maybe he hadn’t been seeing things correctly. But there was something off about the hand that was holding onto his trembling one. It was cold as ice. His head snapped up and his eyes opened as he looked down to see her two lifeless, dull blue orbs staring up at him. Her mouth opened and closed as if trying to remember how to work. How to eat. “NO!” He screamed out in disbelief. Seeing her dead was heart breaking. Seeing her come back as one of them.. that was plain torture. 

She was grasping for him now, trying to pull herself up to him. He wanted so desperately to cradle her face in his hands. To beg her to come back to him. He cried out as he reached for the lid instead, slamming it shut. He couldn’t deal with this. It was too much. 

As soon as the coffin was closed, the soft keys of the piano started playing again. Beth’s beautiful voice echoed through the air with it as she continued on with her song. It filled every crack and crevice of the house. It seeped into his very core. 

“No,” he whispered as he dropped down to his knees again, covering his ears, trying desperately to block out all of the sound. He couldn’t hear this right now. “No, no, no, PLEASE!” 

“Daaarryll,” her gentle voice called out to him as if his name was part of her song.

“No,” he sobbed, his face pressed into the carpet right next to his vomit. 

“Daryl,” she called out again. 

He screamed out harder, trying to block out her voice. 

The third time she called out to him, a hand grabbed his shoulder, “DARYL!”

He jerked up and his eyes flew open. He gasped, swinging at anything and everything around him.

“Whoa! Whoa! It’s me! It’s me, Aaron!” 

Daryl’s eyes were wild as he looked around him, taking in his surroundings. He was ok. He was laying on the floor of the woods. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon. 

It wasn’t real. 

“It was just a nightmare,” Aaron called out to him softly, leaning away from Daryl in case he was still out of it and took another swing. 

Daryl’s eyes finally focused on the man sitting next to him. He was breathing hard and trembling as he heard Aaron’s words playing over in his head, ‘it was just a nightmare.”

Before he knew it, his body forced him in the opposite direction of Aaron as he scrambled to his knees and repeated the action in his dream and heaved up all of the contents in his stomach. 

‘It wasn’t real,’ he whispered quietly, pressing his face into the cool leaves on the ground next to his throw up. ‘It wasn’t real. It was just a nightmare. She’s not dead. She’s not dead. She’s not dead,’ he chanted to himself.

God, he really fucking hated that nightmare, and he desperately wished he would stop having it almost every damn time he closed his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aahhhh!! Was that as heartbreaking to read as it was to write?? I think I crushed my own soul with that one. 
> 
> Again, thank you thank you thank you!!


	6. Oh

Daryl’s heart was still pounding hard enough that it felt like it would beat right through his chest as he took deep, calming breaths, his face still pressed into the ground. He heard Aaron get up and walk off as he closed his eyes and forced himself to sit up. 

It had been a few days since he had had that nightmare. The first time he woke up in a cold sweat from it was their first night in Alexandria. Since then, it had been a regular occurrence at least two or three times a week. Each time he woke up from it, he was left with such a hollow and empty feeling. A weight would settle on his chest and stay there for a good portion of the day. 

There had been a few times when Daryl couldn’t shake the heaviness in his heart, though. He had been tempted to end everything because he couldn’t deal with the shame and the guilt any longer. He wouldn’t reach out to anyone. He didn’t want their pity. 

Carol was usually the one to spot the emptiness swallowing him up, though. She never spoke a word to him about it. She knew he wouldn’t open up and talk through it, and it would push him further away if she tried. What she would do, instead, was drop a giggling Judith into his lap or pull him along to help with some kind of construction project in the town. Anything to keep his mind busy. He knew what she was doing, and by the end of the day he was grateful for her efforts. 

This was the first time anyone had witnessed him having his nightmare, though, and he was deeply embarrassed to think how weak it had made him look to Aaron. Usually, he woke up in the early hours of the morning before the rest of the house, covered in sweat in his bed. He would have just enough time to clean himself up and smoke a cigarette to calm himself down before anyone else cracked an eye open. 

To his credit, Aaron made no mention of the dream. Instead, he just walked back over to Daryl after retrieving a bottle of water from his bag and passed it over to him. Daryl took it and washed down the vomit taste in his mouth before looking over at his friend and giving a slight nod of appreciation. 

After eating a quick breakfast, the men cleaned up the camp to get rid of any trace they had been there. It was unlikely, but they didn’t want others to come across their setup and follow them. Walking down to their vehicles, Aaron had the map out and was studying it to make sure he knew every road close by in case they needed an alternateroute to use as a getaway. 

“Your wanna split up? Cover more ground faster.. Or you wanna stick together?” Aaron asked, leaving it up to him. He had thought Daryl might want to be left alone for a little while. He knew Daryl was embarrassed, even though he didn’t think he had any reason to be. The man was torn up over the girl, of course thoughts of her would creep into his dreams. 

“Nah.. let’s stick together. Take the car,” Daryl answered, “You was right yesterday.. can’t just be running’ right into the middle of ‘em without a plan or sumthin’. We’ll ride together.. we come across ‘em, then we’ll hang back.. come up with a plan once we know what we’re dealing with.”

Daryl knew his behavior had been reckless the day before and could have caused one or both of them their lives. He had just been so desperate to get answers after going so long without knowing. He was determined to be more cautious today because he was not going to screw this up.

Getting to the car, Daryl climbed into the passenger seat while Aaron got behind the wheel and passed the map over for Daryl to study. The car came to life with a low rumble and Aaron slowly pulled out of their hiding spot. Choosing to follow the direction the car had left in the previous day, Aaron went west and subsequently turned south on the same road that Daryl had previously stood, hopelessly, at the end of. 

It was slow work. The men had decided their best course of action would be to leave the car parked on the side of the road and go ahead to scout all of the houses that were within a half mile of them. If all was clear, they would go back to get the car and bring it up to the last house they checked. They would leave the car there, scout another half mile, and go back for it again. They figured that would be their best chance at sneaking up on anyone. If they had just drove the car around to look everywhere, then they could easily be spotted. They continued on like this through out most of the day, barely speaking in order to keep as quiet as possible. 

Aaron had only brought up Daryl’s nightmare one time. They had just cleared a section of land and were walking back to the car when Aaron noticed Daryl was lost in his thoughts. Feeling like he wouldn’t be a good friend if he didn’t at least make an effort, even though he already knew what Daryl’s response would be, he asked casually, “Wanna talk about it?”

“Nope.”

Well.. at least he offered. And so they continued on with their mission.

Further into the day, Daryl looked up at the sun. As best he could tell, he figured they only had about three hours of sunlight left. They hadn’t spotted anything unusual all day and had only had to take down a handful of walkers. 

The exhaustion was starting to take a toll on them, so Aaron had recommended taking a small reprieve under the shade of an oak tree before walking back the half mile to grab the car that was tucked away down an old dirt driveway. Daryl hadn’t wanted to stop. He would search all of these houses until he lost the sunlight, but Aaron pointed out that they would need their energy if they needed to suddenly run.  


Daryl reluctantly agreed but told Aaron, “Ten minutes.”

“Twenty?” Aaron countered.

“Five,” Daryl said with a shrug of his shoulder. 

Aaron breathed out a little chuckle and replied, “Ten it is,” as he laid back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. 

Daryl was walking off towards some bushes with a mumble of, “Gotta take a piss,” when he heard it. The quiet rumble of an engine. He quickly jumped behind the bushes as Aaron stood to hide behind the tree he was resting against. Both men watched as the black car came into view from the direction their own car had been parked and sped past them. 

Daryl took off after it. As he ran past Aaron, he yelled out, “Go back and get the car! I’m gonna try and keep their trail! Can’t lose ‘em again!” 

Aaron didn’t say a word in reply and Daryl hadn’t looked back. He would have to take it on faith that Aaron listened to him. He just ran into the tree line and took off after the car, having enough sense in him to stay hidden in case the driver happened to look in his rear-view mirror. 

He ran and ran and ran. His lungs burned as he gasped for breath, but he didn’t slow down. He had lost sight of the car, but he was almost positive there hadn’t been any roads to turn down anytime soon. Not according to the map he had checked an hour or so ago, anyway. They were still on this same stretch of road. They had to be. 

Just when Daryl was starting to lose speed, he heard the sound of a car coming up behind him. Checking to make sure it was Aaron, Daryl left the tree line so he wouldn’t be passed up. Aaron came rolling up next to him and he jumped into the car. 

“Sorry it took so long, ran into a group of walkers,” Aaron told him as he sped back off down the road. Daryl looked over to see that the man was indeed covered in more walker blood than he had been previously. 

“ ‘s fine.. just keep going. They gotta be here somewhere,” Daryl was able to get out through his gasps for air. “No more of this scouting’ shit. They’re close.. can’t lose ‘em.”

Aaron nodded his head in agreement and pushed the gas pedal down as far as it would go.Daryl watched out of his window intently as the blur of the woods passed him by, not wanting to blink in fear of missing any possible driveways that held a black car. 

They were just passing a small clearing that held a small cluster of houses when Daryl finally spotted it. The back end of a black car was sticking out from behind one of the houses. 

“There!” He yelled, pointing out the window as they flew past the houses.

Daryl was jumping out of the car, crossbow in hand, before the car had even come to a complete stop. Aaron threw the car in park and jumped out to race and catch up to him. 

They followed just inside the tree line that circled the houses until they were right next to the one that had the black car sitting behind it. Daryl didn’t even have to check to make sure it was the right car. He could recognize that damn thing a mile away. His heart was pounding and his body raced with adrenaline.

He had told Aaron they would formulate a plan when they found the car, but screw a plan. Only plan he had was getting to those fuckers.. and more importantly, Beth. He had just lifted his bow in front of him, prepared to take off across the yard, when he heard two guns being cocked right behind him.

He froze. 

His heart sunk to the pit of his stomach. He had gotten so close, only to have failed at the last possible second.. again. Beth was probably sitting inside that house right now. He would die less than fifty yards from her, and she’d probably never know. She wouldn’t know just how hard he had tried to save her. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, preparing for the shots that would claim his and Aaron’s lives.

“Don’t move, ass-“ an unfamiliar voice had started to command.. but it was interrupted. Interrupted by a very, very familiar and beautiful voice. One that he was certain two seconds ago that he would never hear again. 

“DARYL!”

She was here. She was right behind him. After all this time, he would finally lay eyes on her again. All of the air left his lungs as his head snapped up and his eyes opened. Before his body could catch up with his brain and let him turn around, something collided with his back, surging him forward. He didn’t lose his footing, though, and two petite arms wrapped around him as he dropped his bow to the ground. He reached up and grasped the arms around him with shaking hands. 

“Beth?” He called out to her. He knew it was her. He had no doubt about it, but part of him was too afraid to turn around, terrified that it had been some sick trick of his mind and she wouldn’t really be there. 

“I’m here!” She cried, face pressed into his back, right between his shoulder blades. “I found you! I’m here!”

He finally found he had the strength to make himself turn around, so he twisted his body, the arms around him never letting go. Her face instantly went into the crook of his neck as she sobbed out the sweetest cry he had ever heard. All he could see was her blonde hair in front of him. He pressed his nose into it and breathed in deeply, releasing a sob of his own as he felt the wetness leave his eyes and fall into her sea of curls. 

This felt too perfect. Good things like this just didn’t happen to him. Maybe he had died right there in those woods. Maybe he had been shot in the back and this was his hell. 

It couldn’t be hell, though, because she was here and someone as perfect as _her_ would never be _there_. No, she was alive and so was he. He could hear her voice and feel her hair tickling his nose. He could feel her arms wrapped around him and her body pressed against him. Something was off, though, about the way their bodies met. His brain couldn’t process it at the moment, so he ignored it for the time being. 

He pulled back and cradled her face in his hands as she looked up at him. She was so beautiful. Her smile, even full of tears, warmed his icy soul. He felt his body thaw out all the way down to his toes. Her happiness mirrored onto his own face. 

He couldn’t find his voice, so he opted to pull her back into another hug. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. She returned his hug with equal, yet surprising, strength.

“Beth, careful.. the baby,” the unfamiliar and forgotten voice called out. 

The baby? Daryl pulled back slightly and looked down at her questioningly as a blush crept up her still smiling face. She released her hold on him enough to look down and his eyes followed.

Oh.

That’s what the odd feeling was when she was pressed against him moments ago. 

Beth Greene was VERY obviously pregnant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that a plot twist, or what??!!
> 
> Bear with me folks, there’s even more to come!
> 
> Thank you! And I love you all!


	7. Let’s get outta here

Daryl was acutely aware that his body was moving. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. His vision was black along the edges and slightly fuzzy. All he could hear was the slow inhale and exhale of his breath. He blinked and was able to bring some of his surroundings into focus. 

He was walking towards the house he had been ready to charge in to previously. There was a small amount of pressure on his wrist, so he looked down to see a hand wrapped around it, pulling him forward. His eyes traveled up the arm connected to it until he saw the back of a head. Blonde curls bobbed up and down in front of him. The curls shifted as the head turned to look at him and her face came into view. Her mouth was moving as if she had been in the middle of saying something. 

Seeing her face must have grounded him, though, because as soon as their eyes connected, all of the sensations returned to his body. His vision cleared and time returned to its normal pace. He could feel the ground beneath his feet with every step taken. He could feel the calluses on her fingers as she held on tightly to him. He blinked as the sound around him came back to full volume. 

“- inside. You gotta tell me everything!” He caught the tail end of what she had been saying. Her eyes twinkled with unshed tears as she bit her bottom lip and smiled at him. “I can’t believe this.”

He couldn’t believe it either. His heart wanted to explode with relief. After all this time, she was here. She was alive. She was safe. He wanted to pick her up and spin her around, hug her tightly to him and never let go. 

He couldn’t do that, though. His eyes automatically traveled down to her protruding belly. Seeing it suddenly had him remembering the new voice he had heard earlier. He looked around, realizing that he could hear that voice right now behind him. The young man was walking next to Aaron and speaking quietly with him. Both men had smiles on their faces as they acquainted themselves with each other, giving no notice to Daryl’s stare. 

He took a moment to look the guy over. He was skinny, dark skinned, and tall. Taller than Daryl. But he was young, probably around Beth’s age. She hadn’t seemed afraid of him, either. He had to be a friend.. or something more. He had shown concern the second Daryl had squeezed his arms around Beth’s small form. 

It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. They were both young. They had been traveling together for apparently quite some time. They were friendly enough to stand next to each other to fight. She was pregnant. He was protective. 

Ya.. he was probably something more. 

They all ushered into the house and locked it up before taking seats around the kitchen table. Daryl’s and Beth’s eyes barely left each other. He was still in such a state of shock at the whole situation. 

“How-,” he was just about to question her, but was interrupted by her excited voice.

“I knew they were lying. I just knew it,” she breathed out quickly, with a large grin on her face. 

He gave her a questioning stare before she clarified, “The people from Grady.. they told me you had died when the funeral home was overrun. I didn’t believe it. Not for one second,” she told him proudly. 

Before he could react, she continued on, “Did you find anyone else?” Her big eyes were pleading for any information. 

He could see Aaron out of the corner of his eye with a large smile plastered on his face. He should feel elated to be able to give her the answer she craved, but instead he felt shame. How could he tell her that he found their whole family, but couldn’t find her? The look on her face told him it wouldn’t matter, that she would ecstatic to hear his good news. It still broke his heart, though, so he hung his head slightly and looked up to her through the fringe of hair that hung over his eyes.

“Found ‘em all,” he whispered, barely loud enough for everyone to hear. 

Her trembling hands shot to her mouth to cover her shock, “Maggie? Judith?” She needed him to clarify.

He lifted his head to look her right in the eyes so that she wouldn’t have any doubt. “They’re all jus’ fine.”

She lunged across the table to wrap him in a tight hug as soon as the words left his mouth, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Her voice was a loud whisper and it shook as much as her body did, tears spilling into Daryl’s shoulder. Daryl returned the hug, feeling slightly lighter at being able to at least give her that moment of happiness. 

Beth tucked her head into the crook of his neck for a moment before pulling back with a surprised, “Oh!” She looked over at the man sitting next to her. “Noah, this is Daryl. Daryl, Noah,” she beamed proudly, tears still streaming down her face.

The guy, Noah apparently, was about to extend his hand out to shake with Daryl. Daryl wasn’t sure of this guy yet, so he just gave a slight nod of his head in greeting. Noah pulled his hand back and returned a nod of his own. 

Sensing the tension coming from Daryl, Aaron quickly introduced himself. “I’m Aaron,” he greeted with a large smile, reaching to shake Beth’s hand.

Beth’s smile hadn’t changed a bit, he noticed, as her face brightened even more at meeting someone new. It still lit up the room, same as it always had. Being able to get past the shock of finally having her back with him, Daryl was able to notice the addition of two scars on her radiant face. Before he could realize what he was doing, his hand reached out and gently grabbed her chin, tilting her head so he could get a better look at them. His blood boiled at the thought of anyone putting their hands on Beth in a violent manner. 

“Who the fuck did that?” He practically growled out.

Her face fell. _No. Shit._ He hadn’t meant to upset her. He just wanted to know which son of a bitch he needed to hunt down and kill. 

She pulled back slightly so that his hand slipped from her face. Her and Noah exchanged a knowing glance, which Daryl mistook as meaning she wasn’t supposed to say anything.

“Better not fuckin’ be him!” He spat out, shoving a finger in Noah’s direction. He stood so quickly that his chair went flying back. Noah’s hands instantly raised up to show he wasn’t a threat, his eyes fearful that Daryl was about to kill him on the spot. 

“NO!” Beth quickly recovered, grabbing Daryl’soutstretched arm to stop any possible attack he was about to make. 

Daryl froze. He wasn’t going to swing on the guy, not with Beth holding onto him like that. No chance would he accidentally hit her. 

“It wasn’t him, Daryl! It was.. I.. I don’t want to talk about it right now, okay!” She pleaded with him desperately. 

He could see the pain in her eyes. God, how he wished he could take it all away for her. He could do this for her, though. He could drop it for now, but answers would be needed. Someone had to pay for hurting the only bit of light he had left in his life. He pulled his arm back slowly and everyone at the table breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Can we just go home.. please?” She asked tenderly. 

Home. 

She had no idea that home to Daryl was any place she occupied. They could stay in this little house forever and he would be home. They could go back to Georgia or continue on to any new place and he would still feel the same. He would go anywhere she wanted, as long as she wanted him around.

He knew what she meant, though. “Let’s get outta here,” he replied softly, nodding his head toward the door. 

Beth and Noah raced to grab what few belongings they had and followed Daryl and Aaron out the door. When she made to walk towards the black car, Daryl was quick to point out, “Nah.. fuck that car. Y’all are ridin’ with us.” 

Beth gave him a funny look. She hadn’t known how much that car had tormented Daryl. How he had ran with every ounce of his strength three separate times to chase it down. How he would have nightmares about that white cross probably the rest of his life. No, he didn’t want to see Beth get in that car, even if it was of her own will. He hoped to never have to lay eyes on that damn thing again. 

She shrugged her shoulders and adjusted her path, following Aaron’s lead as he was headed towards his car that was still out on the road. Asthey walked down the driveway, all eyes were shifting around to keep a lookout for walkers. Daryl’s eyes would check their surroundings, but they kept returning to Beth.. and her swollen belly that she was cradling. 

He had questions.. so many questions.. What was Grady? Who hurt her? How did she get away? Who the hell is this Noah guy? When the hell did she get pregnant? What had happened to her in the past seven or eight months since he had last laid eyes on her? But one question stopped him from asking any of them.. Did he even deserve to know the answers to those questions? 

They piled into Aaron’s car, with Beth and Noah taking the backseat. Once the car was turned around and they were speeding off down the road, Daryl heard Beth’s voice perk up with excitement as she spoke to Noah.

“I can’t believe it, Noah! They’re okay.. they all made it!”

_Shit_.. “Tyreese didnt make it..,” he interrupted her. He hadn’t meant to leave that part out. When he had said they all made it, he had wanted her to know that their core family from the start was still breathing. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of Tyreese as family, it had just been so long since he died that it hadn’t popped into his head as soon as she asked. Now, he just felt like a dick. He shifted slightly in his seat to offer some form of apology, but he couldn’t speak when he saw the sadness on her face. 

“Anyone else?” She asked timidly.

He shook his head no.

“Okay,” she replied sadly. 

Daryl wished there was something he could do or say to put her smile back on her face. He just wasn’t good at this shit. Before he could think of anything, though, he watched as Noah reached over and grabbed Beth’s hand in comfort. He turned back around to face the road ahead of them, not wanting to witness what would go on between the two. 

“Gotta get my bike,” he grunted over to Aaron. 

Thankfully, the rest of the ride went by quickly and quietly.Aaron pulled up to where Daryl’s motorcycle was hidden, and he jumped out of the car quickly. He needed some fresh air and some alone time to clear his head. He couldn’t deal with everything he was feeling while crammed in the car. He cranked the bike and sped off, making sure Aaron’s car kept close behind. 

He hated this feeling. He didn’t want his joy at Beth’s return to be soured by his jealousy. Girl had every right to find happiness wherever she damn well pleased. She wasn’t his. She never had been. He had no right to think that if he ever found her, he could profess his love for her and see if she felt the same, lay it all on the line. But damn it, he sure thought he would have had the chance to try. 


	8. He’s pretty fond of it, too

He needed to get ahold of himself. Beth was back. That’s all that mattered. She didn’t deserve him getting all weirded out just because she had held hands with someone else. Hell, the guy was better than he had been. He stuck around. He made sure Beth and her baby.. their baby?.. stayed safe. The two certainly seemed cozy with one another. If they were together, then Daryl would keep his mouth shut and continue doing what he had tried to do all along. He would keep his family safe. He would be their protector, and he would take his love for her to the grave. Besides, there were more pressing matters to deal with right now. 

He was about to hand deliver Beth Greene to their family. Their family who had taken her for dead long ago. Emotions were about to go flying off the handle. 

He briefly wondered if it was safe for Beth to experience so many strong emotions in one day, if it could cause harm to her baby. He had noticed her face light up the slightest amount when she had cradled her bump earlier. She was happy. This baby wasn’t a burden for her. She had always wanted children of her own. He remembers hearing her talk about it one time when she was watching Judith. She hadn’t thought it would ever happen for her, though. Now, she finally had her chance. Daryl knew without a doubt, he would die to protect that baby. 

The fresh air from riding his bike served to do Daryl no good. As they neared Alexandria, he could feel the anxiety building. Everyone would be elated at having Beth back, that he was sure of. But then Beth would would undoubtedly tell her story, and they would have to give her theirs in return. 

Even though he wanted to know everything, he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to hear it all. He knew that he would blame himself for all of the trials she had had to endure. He already hated himself for leaving her behind. How would he feel once he actually knew the horrors of it all? How would she feel once she knew their side? A slow panic started to creep in when he realized that there could be a chance Beth might not want to stay once she knew everything. 

The gates to Alexandria came into view right as the sun was setting, casting an orange glow on everything it touched. Daryl was tempted to get Beth safely inside Alexandria, then make up some excuse to go off on a hunt. He just wasn’t sure if he could handle all of the emotions that were about to go down. He really didn’t want to be a coward, but he had been hiding from situations like that his entire life. There had never been emotions allowed inside the Dixon household besides pissed off, and Will Dixon was the only one allowed to feel that one. He learned early on in his life that if he felt anything, it had better not be noticeable. He would just have to play this by ear. If things got to be too heavy for him, then he would have to bail. He knew his life wasn’t controlled by that fight or flight instinct anymore, but some habits never truly left him. 

The gates were opening now, being pulled to the side by someone hidden in the shadows. As Daryl neared the entrance, he could make out that figure as Michonne. Of course it had to be someone from their family. His heart raced faster. How was he supposed to do this? Should he just blurt out to Michonne that Beth is in the car? Does he yell for her to gather everyone? Does he just keep his mouth shut and let everyone find out on their own? God, he really, really wanted to just take off into the woods. 

As he passed through the gates, he noticed Michonne had her head slightly turned as if she was talking to someone. He followed her line of sight and nearly toppled right off of his bike when he saw Maggie standing a few feet away from her. She had a smile on her face and was leaning on the shovel she was holding. There was dirt smudged on her face and clothes. She must have just finished gardening and stopped by for a chat. Hadn’t even made it home to take a shower yet. She had no idea how much her world was about to change. 

Daryl circled back around to park by the women right before Aaron’s car pulled in. He must have had a panicked look on his face, because both women turned their attention to him, instantly looking concerned.

“Everything alright?” Maggie questioned.

Daryl’s eyes darted between the women but he remained quiet, his words failing him.

“Dixon.. you good?” Michonne asked, becoming more concerned at his demeanor. 

Daryl could see Aaron’s car pulling in out of his periphery. It was the moment of truth. Words refused to form in his mouth. He just looked back and forth between the women. They could sense his anxiety. Maggie had started to take a step towards Daryl right as the car came to a complete stop. Her hand was coming up to rest on his shoulder to try to calm down his panic when Daryl could see the back door of the car opening. Maggie had just opened her mouth to speak to him, but a different voice filled the air.

“MAGGIE!” 

Maggie had been looking at Daryl’s face when Beth cried out her name. She gave him a funny look, as if she were confused, but she still kept her eyes on him. After a moment, the color drained from her face as the voice sunk in. She was still looking in his eyes, unable to move, having the same reaction he had had just hours ago. 

“Beth?” She whispered. Daryl wasn’t sure if she was asking him, asking Beth, or asking the world in general if her sister was actually behind her. He finally found he was able to speak again, so he bowed his head before nodding and whispering back with a shaky voice, “Yeah.”

It was as if she just needed the confirmation in order to make her body move. As soon as he had replied, she whipped her whole body around just in time to catch Beth throwing herself into her sister’s arms. Both girls sunk to the ground, clinging to each other and crying. Daryl could hear them both sniffling as Maggie pulled back enough to grab Beth’s face in her hands. She looked as if she were trying to communicate how sorry she felt for not being there for Beth. Daryl thought they must have one of those bonds where you can communicate without words because Beth started shaking her head ‘no’ as if to say she didn’t want to hear that right now. 

Maggie’s eyes traveled down Beth’s body, checking to make sure she had all ten fingers and ten toes. When she reached Beth’s stomach, though, her eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of their sockets. Her head snapped up to give Beth a questioning look, but Beth just shook her head no, again. She wasn’t ready to talk about it. Maggie looked as if she wanted to push further but changed her mind and nodded her acceptance. 

Daryl wasn’t sure if he was prepared to hear the answers to the questions Beth refused to reply to, but it really unsettled him that she was so unwilling to talk about it. She had always been an open book. Girl never shut up before. 

Michonne had stood back, shocked at the events unfolding in front of her. Never could she have imagined this reunion actually happening. She looked over at Daryl to see the hesitant look on his face as he stared down at the women. She reached out to gently squeeze his elbow and gave a polite smile when he looked over. 

“I’m gonna go round up everyone,” she told him. “I’ll tell ‘em all to gather at our house.” 

He nodded his reply and she slipped away quickly. When he turned back around, Beth and Maggie were embraced in another hug, while crying and whispering their I love you’s. It was a tender moment, one that Daryl felt like he was intruding on, so he made his way over to Aaron and Noah. 

Both men had been standing by Aaron’s car, talking quietly. As he approached them, he could hear Aaron explaining the basic history of Alexandria and how they had survived this long. 

“This is amazing, man,” Noah said in awe as he looked around at their little town. “It’s perfect.”

Smiling proudly, Aaron replied, “Yeah, we’re pretty fond of it.” 

Daryl rolled his eyes upon hearing them. He hated this part of introducing newcomers to their town. It was like people thought Alexandria was the perfect suburban life that could withstand the end of the world forever. They didn’t get it. The farm had been a decent setup. The prison had been even better. Both of those places were gone now. This place would crash and burn too. 

Then he looked back over to Beth. The girls were now standing back up and laughing as they wiped away their tears. Beth happened to look his way, and when she did, she gave him one of her radiant smiles. 

Yeah.. he guessed he was pretty damned fond of the place now, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to start this off by apologizing now.. because I REALLY struggled with this chapter. I hope it’s not as horrible as it seems, but I really just wanted to get them inside the gates of Alexandria and have an initial reunion between the sisters. Next chapter will be better! At least I hope so 😆


	9. Focus on the good

Once Beth and Maggie were able to get ahold of themselves and separate without crying, Beth was pulling Maggie over to where the guys stood by Aaron’s car. 

“Maggie, this is Noah. Noah, this is my sister Maggie,” she proudly introduced them.

  
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Noah smiled kindly as he reached his hand out to shake Maggie’s.

“Michonne’s got everyone up at the house,” Daryl grumbled, interrupting them before Maggie could reply. 

He turned and walked back over to his bike. He didn’t want the introductions to go any further while they were standing out in the open, in fear he might hear something he wasn’t prepared for yet. 

As he cranked it, he looked back over his shoulder to see everyone piling into Aaron’s car. Beth was halfway into the backseat, but she was looking at Daryl. As their eyes met, he could see that she had a sad look on her face. He wondered what the girl could possibly be upset about. She had just been crying tears of joy at being reunited with her sister. Maybe she was nervous about seeing everyone else, he thought. She gave him a sad smile before climbing the rest of the way in to the car and he pulled off down the street. Something told him in the back of his mind that she had looked so downcast because of him. Maybe she was unhappy with him for leaving her behind and the reality of it was just catching up to her. 

As they pulled up to the house and the car doors started to open, Daryl was tempted to pull Beth aside and ask her if she wanted him to leave. He would gladly leave Alexandria so that she could live happily with their family here, if that’s what she wanted. Before he could even climb off his bike, though, the front door of their house opened and everyone came flying out to see if Michonne had been correct in telling them Beth was alive and home. 

He stood off to the side as he watched everyone go in for their turn at hugging her. Rick kissed her forehead and gave her belly a questioning stare. Glenn picked her up gently and gave her a quick spin. Sasha and Beth clung to each other tightly, with Beth whispering her condolences. Carl and Michonne gave her a gentle hug before asking to lay a hand on her belly to feel the baby. There wasn’t a dry eye in the group. 

Everyone began talking excitedly at her, asking questions and wanting to give her details of their new life. She was trying to listen to them all, but even from off to the side he could tell Beth was getting overwhelmed. Girl was too damn polite to tell them to give her some space. He was just about to tell them all to back the fuck up and let her breathe, but someone else beat him to it. 

“Sorry guys but do you mind if we take this inside?” Noah asked, with more politeness than Daryl had ever used in his whole life. 

Everyone had the sense to look slightly ashamed, but Beth just smiled to let them know it was okay and allowed herself to be pulled to the house by Maggie. They all followed excitedly and were chattering to Noah as they walked. Daryl hung back, finishing the cigarette he had lit on the way up from the gate. 

He knew he was going to go in to the house. He was determined to at least make it that far. Not knowing what had happened to her was killing him. He just really hoped he could sit throughout the whole story without making an ass of himself. He didn’t want to upset Beth anymore than he already thought he had.

By the time he finished his cigarette and had made his way inside, everyone had settled down and found a spot to sit in the living room. Beth was sitting on the couch at the far side of the room, right in the middle of everyone. When she heard the door open, her eyes met his. She seemed to feel more at ease that he was there because she relaxed into her seat. He was so confused. First she was happy, then sad.. now relieved. He couldn’t get a good read on her and that bugged the shit out of him. Daryl shut the door and leaned back onto it. He was close enough to everyone to be able to hear what was said, but far enough away to slip back outside undetected if need be. 

The chatter had died down and everyone looked to Beth expectantly, ready to hear what had happened to her and how she had survived . She looked around at their family and Daryl could see the nerves coming off of her in waves. 

“I.. um.. I guess y’all are wondering how we got here,” she gave a nervous chuckle as she looked over to Noah. He had been sitting next to Beth and when she looked to him, he reached out and grabbed her hand. 

Daryl looked down to his feet and decided that his shoes were suddenly more interesting than his surroundings. He didn’t need his eyes to listen, anyway. _Coward_ , he thought to himself. 

“I don’t remember much about the night I was taken. I just remember waking up in a hospital..Grady.. in Atlanta-“

Daryl’s eyes snapped up at that information as he blurted out, “Atlanta?” 

She was in Atlanta that whole time? Maybe a half hour at most from where the funeral home had been. His heart sunk as Beth nodded back to him. He should have stayed. He should have looked. He took a deep breath to control himself and looked back down as he closed his eyes. 

Sensing that he wasn’t going to say anything else, Beth continued, “I woke up there and they told me I had been hit by a car. That they saved me.”

Daryl was about to say that it was bullshit, but Beth kept talking and he didn’t want to interrupt her again.

“I knew they were lying, though. I remembered them sneaking up on me and hitting me over the head when I was running from that herd. I don’t know what happened after that. They wouldn’t let me leave, though. They said I owed them since they had patched me up.”

Daryl’s blood was boiling at this point. _They told her she fucking owed them?_

“Well, that’s when I met Noah.. he told me he had been there for a few months by then. He said nobody had ever paid off their debt. So, we took our time and came up with a plan. Got ourselves out eventually.”

That story seemed entirely too vague to Daryl, but he couldn’t just call her out on it. If she didn’t want to tell them everything, he couldn’t force it out of her. It didn’t lessen the ache in his chest at all, though. There was something bad she was leaving out. That much he could tell. 

His thoughts were interrupted as Beth continued, “We didn’t know where to go. I had no idea where anyone was and I just felt lost. Noah wanted to go back to his family’s community in Virginia, so I followed him.” She looked over sadly to Noah and he gave her a small nod to say it was okay for her to tell this part. “They were all gone, though, when we got there. After that, we didn’t really have much of a plan. We just kept driving aimlessly. Didn’t want to stay in one place too long. We were actually getting ready to skip town today. We needed to find some medical supplies and baby stuff, but we couldn’t find anything.. and then we saw a car go flying past our house and hit it’s breaks. We freaked out and took off into the woods.. it felt like we were being tracked, and we knew we wouldn’t get far with me being so pregnant.. so Noah was going to kill whoever was after us. Turns out it was Daryl.” Beth flashed him a smile as she finished. 

She had seemed too eager to finish, Daryl thought. Everyone else looked like they were just so willing to accept her version for exactly how she told it. Nobody was questioning her to fill in any missing blanks. Daryl knew there had to be more to it than that. He had been so lost in thought over it, he hadn’t realized he was staring Beth down, unresponsive to her smile at him. 

“How did you guys get here?” She quickly turned to ask Maggie. Daryl saw the blush creep up her neck and felt like a dick for not acknowledging her. 

He zoned out as Maggie retold the events that led them to Alexandria. He already knew those details and didn’t have any desire to revisit those memories. He heard Beth’sconcern as she asked questions along the way. He heard others adding in their own accounts. He heard Noah joining in and asking his own questions. 

He heard it all, but he was lost in thoughts of his own. Whatever it was Beth was hiding, it had to have been bad. How nobody else had picked up on it was unbelievable. It was so obvious. If he would have just stuck around and looked for her, he could have possibly saved her from whatever it was she was so afraid to talk about. 

It wasn’t until Glenn finally chimed in that Daryl was pulled from his inner turmoil to hear that the conversation had switched to a different topic. 

“I’m really happy for you, Beth.. you’re gonna be a great mom,” he smiled over at her before turning his gaze to Noah. “Just wait until you see it, man. She was a natural with Judith-“

Daryl decided he had finally reached his limit. He stayed longer than he thought he would to begin with. He turned and slipped out the door as inconspicuously as possible to make his escape. 

As he stepped out onto the porch, he took a deep breath and looked up at the night sky. The sun had fully set a while ago and the moon was high in the sky. The past two days had taken a toll on him and all he really wanted to do was crawl up in bed and pass the hell out. Not wanting to make a fool of himself by immediately walking back in, he grabbed his cigarettes out of his pocket and stepped off the porch to go for a walk to distract himself from his thoughts. 

A lot of good that did him, because his thoughts immediately went to Beth. He was so tired, though, and he found he didn’t have the energy to beat himself up over everything or question anything at the moment. He just wanted to focus on what was good for now. 

He was beyond happy she was back. Words couldn’t even express the relief he got in discovering she was alive. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her, only now she had that extra glow. Pregnancy really looked good on her. She must have been able to eat well during their travels, because she didn’t have that frail and unhealthy look that Lori had during that first winter on the run. She really was going to be a great mom. He hoped she still sang. He missed laying on his perch in the prison and being lulled to sleep by the sound of her voice as she rocked Judith two rooms away. He’s almost positive he would swear off smoking if he could just hear her sing again. She looked stronger, too. More fierce. Like she could truly hold her own. Which, apparently, she had. He hoped he had taught her that. Beth looked happy and that was enough. 

By the time Daryl had finished making his circle around the block, he was pretty proud of himself. He hadn’t had any negative thoughts. He had focused solely on the positives, and he found his anxiety to have decreased tremendously. He was looking forward to getting to bed, hoping to finally be able to have a peaceful night’s rest. 

The house was dark and quiet, so Daryl figured everyone must have left and gone to bed. At least he wouldn’t get any questioning glares for suddenly disappearing earlier. He wondered which house Beth had chosen to stay at. There was more room at the house he was staying at, but she would probably have wanted to be near her sister. 

As he neared the porch of the house, he could hear the quiet sniffles of someone crying. That cry was unmistakable. The last time he had heard it, she was sitting in front of a bottle of peach schnapps. Well, so much for his anxiety being calmed. Daryl quickened his steps to get to the porch, determined to figure out who or what had made her cry. 

“Beth?” He called out softly when a figure hidden in the shadows came into view sitting on the steps. Beth’s head snapped up from where it had been tucked into her elbows resting in her knees. “What’s wrong girl?”

She quickly wiped her eyes before shaking her head and mumbling, “Nothin.”

She must have thought better of it, because a moment later, she shrugged her shoulders before saying sadly, “Everything.”

Daryl sat on the steps a few feet away from her and looked over. Crying had always made him uncomfortable. He was never sure what to do when someone cried. Sometimes it would just piss him off when someone cried because he was never allowed to do that growing up. He was beat into believing that crying was one of the biggest signs of weakness and Dixon’s weren’t weak. Seeing Beth cry now, though, had him wanting to reach out and hold her, but he didn’t think it was his place to do so. 

“Someone say somethin’ to ya?” He questioned. He might not be able to comfort her, but he could kick someone’s ass for her. 

Without looking over to him, she shook her head no.

“Someone do somethin’?”

Again, she shook her head no. 

Not sure if it was a pregnancy thing.. he remembered Lori crying at the drop of a hat out of nowhere sometimes.. he figured maybe it just wasn’t him she wanted to talk to. 

“Want me to go find Noah for you?” He asked, trying his hardest to not sound jealous or bitter.

Beth scoffed as she shook her head, but this time she spoke up, “No.. I don’t want to talk to Noah about it.”

“I can go find Maggie for ya-“ he had started to reply, grasping for straws because he wasn’t good at this guessing game and it was starting to aggravate him that she just wouldn’t speak up. 

“Why are you so mad at me?” She cut him off, finally looking over at him with tears falling down her face. 

Mad at her? What the hell did she mean? How could she possibly think he was mad at her?

“Huh?”

“You seemed so happy to see me.. up until we got in the car to come here. It’s like you shut down after that.. and.. and you’ve barely looked at me since we been here, but each time you do, you just look so closed off,” she sobbed out in one breath.

Damn.. he really was terrible at this. He didn’t think his demeanor had been so obvious. He wasn’t mad at her, though, and he needed her to understand that. 

Daryl sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, “Ain’t mad atcha girl..”

“You think I’m stupid for getting pregnant, then? Is that it? I seen the way you freaked out when you saw it.” She was getting angry now. Good, Daryl had better experience with anger. 

“Hell naw.. what you and Noah do is your own business,” he replied with just as much attitude as her. 

“If you wouldn’t have bailed earlier.. yeah I noticed.. then you would have heard me tell Glenn.. me and Noah ain’t together.. and this ain’t his baby!” She spat out at him as she stood from the stairs and turned to face him. She wasn’t crying anymore, but there was still pain written all over her face. 

Daryl was only more confused now. Had he mistaken all of the glances between the pair for something more than it was? If so, who was the baby’s father and where the hell was he? Did he die trying to protect Beth? Had she lost another person that she loved? He cursed himself for having left earlier. If he wouldn’t have panicked, then she wouldn’t have to be out here, upset, and going over this again. 

“Where-“ he had started to ask where the guy was, ashamed at himself, but part of him just needed to know. 

“He’s dead!” She cried out.

Oh.. yeah, he was a dick alright.

.. but then, “I killed him!”

Daryl’s heart sunk. Beth had had to resort to killing a person. She had taken down plenty of walkers. Hell, she was pretty good at it, but Daryl never wanted her to ever be in a position to have to kill a living person. He wouldn’t think any less of her for it, because he had no doubt it was self defense, but he knew personally what kind of toll it takes on you to take another person’s life. 

But wait, if it was self defense... Daryl’s eyes shot up to Beth’s as her shoulders slumped and her lip trembled before she said softly, “Daryl.. I was raped.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I live in southern louisiana and we have some crazy winter weather hitting us today, so if you don’t hear from me for a couple of days, it’s because we lost power. Hopefully it’s not as bad as they are expecting. We have already had two major hurricanes this season and went weeks without power for both. Anyway, if you don’t hear from me soon, just know I haven’t forgotten this story and will be back as soon as I can! Thanks everyone 😊


	10. Nothin’ to be sorry for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning*** Beth discloses the details of her rape.

Daryl’s blood ran ice cold. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. Maybe all those untreated ear infections he had when he was a kid were finally affecting his hearing. Or that time he had to get in the middle of a bar fight to save Merle’s drunk ass and some dumb fuck cracked a bar stool upside his head, right on the ear. That could be what’s got his hearing jacked up. There had to be some form of explanation, because there was no way in hell she had actually said what he thought she did. 

Nobody would have the nerve to hurt Beth like that. She was too good. She would give you the shirt off her back in the dead of winter. Hell, he’d seen her carry spiders out of her cell on a piece of paper, just to go release them outside. Why would anyone want to harm her like that after seeing just how good she is?

He was incapable of movement at the moment. His whole body must have froze right along with his blood. He could see Beth looking at him expectantly, but nothing on him would function. 

His denial was slowly turning into acceptance. As his blood started to thaw, he could feel the pulsating of his heartbeat behind his eyes. His hands itched at the thought of destroying whoever had hurt her. All he could think of was jumping on his bike right this moment and making a drive down to Atlanta. Have himself a nice little bloodshed and be back for Sunday lunch. He had no doubt he could do it. He had a city and a location name; it was like it was being served to him on a platter. 

Driving off like that wouldn’t help matters none, though. Beth already killed the son of a bitch. Even if it broke his heart to think she was forced into the position of having to kill someone, he was proud of her for doing it.

He wasn’t sure how long he had sat there, staring at Beth with his head a thousand miles away. It must’ve been long enough, though, because Beth’s pleading eyes finally blinked and looked away before she mumbled out, “I should go.”

She turned and started to walk off towards the house next door where Maggie and the others were living. _Why couldn’t he get anything right?_ Here she was, trusting him with her life-altering news, and he couldn’t even say anything. She was already halfway across the yard by the time he snapped out of it. 

“Beth! Wait!” He called as he stood to race over to her retreating form.

He came to a stop in front of her, blocking her path when she refused to look at him and tried to walk around him. 

“No Beth, please-“ he tried to persuade her to listen, even though he had no idea what to say. 

“I’m okay Daryl.. just forget it,” she replied but stopped walking, keeping her eyes on the ground. 

He needed to say something and say it fast. What could he possibly say to make her feel better about this situation, though? He was sorry? His apology wouldn’t make up for this. It was his fault this happened to her, and it would affect her for the rest of her life. How do you say sorry for something like that? 

He was searching her face for any clue as to what to say, when her eyes finally looked up to him. He worked his mouth open a few times, trying to spit something, anything out, but was still drawing a blank. He stopped when he saw her eyes change. They shifted from despair to concern as she reached up and cupped his cheek.

“Daryl, you’re crying,” she told him in her most tender voice.

_Shit. When did that happen?_ he wondered.

He closed his eyes as she pulled her thumb down his face to wipe away a track of tears. This was too much for him. Why was she concerned about him? Everything that had happened to her was his fault. She should be slapping him or hitting him or demanding that he leave Alexandria and their family. She should be yelling at him that he failed her. 

He hung his head in shame as more tears slid down his face and whispered to her the only words that his trembling mouth was capable of forming, “I’m sorry.. I’m so sorry.”

Her other hand came up to cup the opposite side of his face and she repeated her movements of wiping his tears away. When she pushed his face gently up, he complied but kept his eyes down. 

She ducked her head to catch his eyes with hers and said in the most gentle voice he had heard, “Daryl.. it’s not your fault.”

“Yeah.. it is,” he nodded his head. “Everything that happened to you.. if I’da just fought harder.. been quicker.. if I’da looked longer-“

“No, Daryl.. what happened.. it happened because there are still bad people in this world. And.. and sometimes they win,” she interrupted him sadly. 

God, how he wished he had the power to take it all away for her. He didn’t want there to be bad people anymore. He wished he could go back and kill them all before they had a chance to lay a hand on her.

“It was stupid o’ me.. to open that door without checkin’. I just.. you sounded so excited about that damn dog. I wanted to be able to give him to ya,” he confessed with a broken heart. Not being vigilant that night had haunted him ever since. Nothing she could say would ever make him forgive himself for letting his guard down. 

She must have known that though, because instead of saying anything, she just pulled him down to her. His face instantly going to the crook of her neck as her arms wrapped around him tightly. He felt like shit at having to be comforted by her. But he couldn’t help himself as he wrapped himself around her tightly, letting his whole body tremble with emotion. He could feel her tears falling onto his shoulder as his slid down her neck, and that just made him hold her tighter as he released a small sob. 

He had to get ahold of himself, he realized after a moment. He hadn’t been there when she needed him, but he would be there now if she would let him. He took in a deep breath to calm himself. Before he could pull back and try to piece together some form of a sentence, anything to try to comfort her, she pulled back first. 

“Hey.. you got somewhere we can go sit where it’s warm?” She asked him sweetly. He noticed then that she had a slight tremble to her body. He had been so lost in his emotions that he hadn’t realized the coolness of the night settling in. J _esus, could he ever get anything right for her_ , he scolded himself. 

“Ya.. come on,” he whispered as he reached down to lace her fingers with his and pulled her along with him back to the house. 

Once inside, he wasn’t sure if she would want to stay in the living room or to go in his room for more privacy. Deciding he didn’t want to risk someone walking in on them with their emotions being so heavy, he walked towards his room. He looked back at her before opening his door with a question on his face to see if this was okay. She understood and nodded her head. They walked in and he shut the door behind them. Unsure of what to do with himself now, he stood by the door as she found her a spot to sit at the edge of the bed. Looking up at him, she patted the mattress next to her and he obeyed, walking over and sitting softly next to her. 

She instantly reached over and grabbed his hand to hold in her lap, right next to her bump. “Daryl.. do you want me to tell you everything?” She asked, voice no more than a whisper.

He took a moment to consider this. He did want to know, but he also didn’t. He didn’t want her to have to relive it all by telling it to him, but he also felt like he needed to know. He needed to know just how badly his fuck up had been. It would be torture to him, but he deserved it. He deserved to feel that failure every day for the rest of his life. But he also didn’t want her to tell him if she wasn’t ready. 

He really hoped he was doing the right thing when he gave a small nod of his head.

When she sat in silence for a few moments, he became worried that she wasn’t really ready for this. Before he could tell her it was okay to not talk about it, she took a deep breath and looked down at their hands before opening her mouth and speaking.

“There was this cop.. well, there was a bunch of cops there. They were the ones keeping charge of us. Making sure we didn’t leave. Making sure we did our chores and stuff. But there was one, Gorman was his last name.. never knew his first. He.. he liked to catch the girls when they were alone,” she took a deep shuttering breath that had Daryl’s heart clenching in his chest. 

“Hey.. ya ain’t gotta-“ he had started to tell her, only for her to shake her head.

“No.. I want to. I do.. I think it’ll help me get past it, ya know?” she told him softly. 

He squeezed her hand in reply, and she continued. “He didn’t do much at first.. he would just stand there looking over my shoulder to see what I was doin’. Then he started running his hand along my back or down my arm anytime he passed me. He got a kick out of it ‘cause he knew he creeped me out and I couldn’t do nothin about it.. then one night when I was doin’ laundry.. he reached around me and started pawing at my chest. I just froze. I was too scared to react. So I just let ‘im.” 

She sniffled and Daryl felt her tears fall onto his hand. He couldn’t move. Hearing this was making his blood boil and he felt the itch to destroy something. He had to keep calm, though. She needed him to listen, so he would. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze to let her know she was safe now, he had her. 

She took a breath before continuing, “He cornered me a couple times and did it.. then one day when he had his hands on me.. he pressed himself into me.. and I could _feel_ him,” she shuddered. 

Daryl’s insides twisted with anger and despair at the same time. It was hard for him to breathe. He didn’t want to listen anymore, but he had to. He wouldn’t make her deal with this alone. 

“He got himself off.. just rubbin’ on me and grabbin’ me. He never said nothin’, though. Just kept quiet. And.. and when he was done, he tossed a sucker on the table in front of me.. like it was a _prize_ or somethin’.” Her eyes were shut tight, but tears continued to stream steadily out. 

Her bottom lip trembled, and Daryl wanted so badly to hold her face in his hands and tell her how sorry he was again. He stayed quiet, though. He would let her get through this at her own pace. 

“He did that three times. Three times I sat through it, too afraid to do anything else. Then one day.. I was doing laundry.. he came up behind me and I let myself shut down so I wouldn’t feel anything. He started grabbing me and rubbing on me.. but then he pushed his hands in my pants and I panicked. I shoved him off’a me. But that just got him more excited.. he said he liked me havin’ some fight. He came at me again and I slapped him. That’s when I got this.” She ran a finger from her free hand across the small scar on her cheek. “He had a ring on his finger.. a big one.. and he backhanded me.”

Daryl really wished he could hit a pause button to take a few minutes to gather himself. His whole body was shaking in anger, but he didn’t want Beth to be scared off by his reaction. She needed him to be calm. _‘Deep breath, Dixon. Deep breath,’_ He told himself.

“He bent me over the table and yanked my pants and underwear down.. God, I was so scared.. and I heard his zipper come undone. I tried to shut my mind off.. but it wouldn’t work that time. Felt like I was about to have a heart attack.. Then he shoved himself into me. It.. it hurt so much.. It felt like I was being ripped open. I wanted to cry for help.. but he wrapped his fingers around my face and I could barely breathe. He just kept pushing himself into me over and over. It felt like it would never end.. but then he stopped. I felt him seep into my body.. and I wanted to throw up. When he pulled himself out.. you know what he said to me? He said.. I’ll never forget it.. ‘don’t kid yourself, way you been lookin at me, you was beggin for it.’ But I wasn’t beggin’ for it, Daryl.. I swear I wasn’t!” She finished with a cry, her sobs shaking the whole bed. 

Daryl couldn’t sit still any longer. She needed him, and he wasn’t about to sit back any longer in silence. He threw his arms around her and pulled her in tight to him. 

He ran his hand down the back of her hair as he whispered, “I know you weren’t girl.. I know.”

His voice cracked because of how dry his throat was. 

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered into his neck. 

“Hey.. y’aint got nothin’ to be sorry for, a’right? Don’t even think like that.” He attempted to reassure her. 

She gave a slight nod into his neck, and kept her face where it was when she continued. “He was pulling his pants up when I saw it.. his flashlight was sitting on the table next to me. I grabbed it and.. and I smashed it upside his head. I took him by surprise and he fell because his pants were only halfway up. I jumped on top of him and I just.. kept swinging. I don’t know how many times I hit him. I just didn’t stop until my arms were too heavy to pick up. That’s when I grabbed his gun and keys and I ran to find Noah.. we snuck down the elevator shaft and stole the car. Never looked back,” she finished with a sigh. 

Her tears seemed to have run dry, and her trembling ceased. She took a deep breath and pushed it out, and Daryl could tell she already felt lighter. He was so proud of her.. she had no idea just how strong she was.

“Ya did good, girl. Real good,” he whispered into her hair with as much conviction behind it as he could. He wanted her to know he was being truthful, not just trying to make her feel better. “And you was wrong.. what ya said before.. the bad guy didn’t win this time. You did.. you got yourself outta there. You did that.”

She didn’t say anything back. They just sat there, tangled up in each other. The only sound in the room was their breathing. Before long, he felt her breathing even out and a low snore came from her mouth. He decided he was going to stay here a little while longer. She needed the rest, and he didn’t want to disturb her by moving. Before he knew it, though, his eyes shut as he rested his head on hers, and he was out like a light. 


	11. You need me, I’m there

Daryl woke up to the sun streaming in his eyes. He hadn’t even remembered falling asleep. They must have shifted at some point in the night because they were both under the blankets now. He felt a pressure on his side and looked down to see Beth curled into him with her head on his shoulder, her bump pressing gently into his hip. He sighed as he looked down at her. 

This girl deserved the world and all it had done was shit on her. She lost her mom and brother, then watched as he and Shane shot them dead again. She lost her will to live. She lost her boyfriend. Lost her home. She lost her next boyfriend. Watched her father be murdered right in front of her. Then the prison was gone and Daryl couldn’t protect her and keep her safe. And that prick took something from her that she can never get back.

He was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice when Beth’s breathing changed to signal that she was waking up. She blinked her eyes open and they immediately found his. A blush crept up her neck as she lifted her head off his shoulder and sat up.

_Shit_.. she just told him about another man invading her space, and here he was falling asleep with her and letting her wake up to him staring at her. He probably scared the shit out of her. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled, “didn’t wanna wake ya.”

She gave him one of her signature grins that let him relax a little and told him softly, “No.. it’s okay. Sorry I passed out on you. I must have been exhausted.”

“It was a long day.”

“Yeah.. but a good one,” she beamed.

They got out of bed then, with Daryl immediately missing her warmth, and Beth excused herself to the bathroom. When Daryl went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, he was met by Rick sitting at the counter feeding Judith a lunch. They must have slept a lot longer than he thought.   


Daryl ruffled the girl’s hair as he walked by and thought about last night when they had returned home. He didn’t remember seeing Judith among the crowd and realized she must have been in bed already. Which meant Beth hadn’t seen the baby girl that she had been missing so much, yet. His heart swelled at the thought of seeing Beth’s face light up at the sight of her. 

“Hey man,” he whispered over to Rick, “Beth’s about to come in.” He nodded to Judith to try to convey his meaning.

Instead, Rick looked over at him,confused, “Beth’s here? I thought she stayed with Maggie.”

Daryl felt his face turn red. “We fell asleep talking.” He didn’t want Rick to get the wrong idea. 

Rick gave him a dubious look as if he thought Daryl was lying, but just chuckled and shook his head, “Alright.. well let’s get you cleaned up then,” he told the little girl as he picked up a napkin and started wiping her face. 

Daryl wanted to tell him to fuck off and that he was telling the truth, but right as he opened his mouth, he heard her footsteps coming down the hall. He turned in her direction right as she came into the room, and her face instantly lit up at the sight in front of her. Her hands went to her mouth to cover her shock, and she gasped out loud. Daryl could see tears already forming in her eyes, but he wasn’t concerned. He knew these were happy tears. She looked incapable of moving, so Rick carried his baby girl over to Beth, offering her over as soon as Beth’s hands reached out for her.

Daryl was slightly worried that Judith wouldn’t recognize her and would be upset. He didn’t want Beth’s feelings to be hurt, but it had been so long since the baby had seen her. Judith, on the other hand, instantly started babbling and smiling away, her hands going wild with her excitement. Beth cuddled into the baby and Daryl could hear her whispering softly “Oh I missed you! Look how big you are! You’re so beautiful!” 

Yeah.. she was going to be a damn good mom.

Watching her stand there and smile while holding that baby gave him a sense of longing he never expected to have. He had never wanted a family of his own before.. but now, the idea hadn’t seemed so bad. He could picture a couple of little blonde, curly headed kids running around.. calling him daddy. 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn’t be thinking like that. Beth wasn’t his. Her baby wasn’t his. She had just suffered through a terrible trauma and here he was picturing them playing house. He needed to cut that shit out.

Looking down at her swollen belly made him realize something he hadn’t thought to mention before, with all of the excitement of the previous day. “Hey.. we got a doctor. I can bring you to him.. see if he can check up on the baby.. if you want.”

Her face lit up when she looked to him, “Really? That’d be great!” She kissed Judith’s head and passed her back to Rick, who gave her a hug and told her how happy he was that she was home. Beth’s smile stayed on her face as her and Daryl walked outside. 

Directing her towards the doc’s house, Daryl watched as Beth took in the town. She looked interested in it, but she also looked guarded.. almost unsure. Understanding how she felt, but still wanting her to feel safe, he leaned over and told her, “Ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen here.. We’re better prepared. Got backup plans and safe houses.” He was ashamed they hadn’t thought to do this at the prison, but they knew better now. 

Beth looked over to him with a sad smile and replied, “That’s good. Just feels weird.. being behind walls again, not knowin’ some of the people.”

Daryl caught on to her meaning instantly and wanted to reassure her. “Hey,” he stopped their walk to look her straight in the eyes so she could see the truth in his, “these people.. they’re good people.. a little naive.. but they’re good. Wouldn’t be here if they weren’t, alright?” He tried to put forth as much confidence as he could. When she gave a slight nod of her head, he continued, “but if anyone, and I mean anyone, even looks at you the wrong way or just creeps you out.. then you come find me right away, ‘kay?I’ll take care of it.” 

At that, Beth gave him a shy smile that had Daryl blushing up his neck. He just wanted her to feel safe again, and he would do whatever he needed to achieve that. 

They resumed their walk to the doctor, and along the way he answered questions she had about Alexandria. He could tell she still felt leery of the place, and that had him thinking of when he had first arrived here. Everyone else had settled in nicely, but he had been skittish. He would take off into the woods and sometimes stay gone for two or three days. Maybe she just needed to slowly adjust like he had. 

“Wanna go huntin’ with me later?” He asked, embarrassed because he felt like a kid asking his crush on a date, even though he knew it wouldn’t be anything like that. The girl just needed some fresh air is all. 

When she bit her lip and looked down, Daryl thought she might be trying to turn him down politely so he quickly backtracked, “Don’t gotta.. just thought maybe you’d wanna get outside the walls for a bit.” He shrugged his shoulders as if it would be no big deal. He wanted absolutely no part in making her feel like she had to do something she didn’t want to. 

She was quick to reply, though, as she reached up to lay a hand on his arm, “No! It’s not that.. I do want to. I just.. I promised Maggie last night that we would spend the afternoon together and catch up.” 

Daryl could tell she genuinely looked disappointed, so he nodded his head to tell her he understood. “Did you tell her yet? About.. ya know?” He felt ridiculous at not being able to say it out loud but hoped she caught his meaning so he wouldn’t have to. 

Her hands went to her stomach to cradle the baby inside as she shook her head, “Not yet. Last night when I told Glenn the baby wasn’t Noah’s, they asked who the father was.. and I just told them I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.. I was gonna tell Maggie this afternoon and let her tell everyone, so I don’t have to.” She looked over at him nervously before asking, “Does that make me a coward?”

“Hell no,” he couldn’t believe she felt that way, “and you don’t gotta tell nobody nothin’.. if ya don’t want ‘em knowin’.” Feeling guilty, he added, “I’m sorry.. if I made ya felt like ya had to tell me. I was bein’ a dick.” He watched his feet as he walked, ashamed at himself.

Beth reached over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze to get him to look at her before returning it to the top of her belly. “You didn’t.. I wanted to tell you. And I don’t mind everyone knowin’. I just wanted to be the one to tell you and Maggie.” 

She spoke so softly. Daryl couldn’t understand how someone who had been through so much could be so gentle. In his experience, trauma just made you mean. He also wondered why he was included in that list with Maggie. He was a nobody. Just some asshole who couldn’t protect her when she needed it most. 

Too embarrassed to ask her, he decided to just continue on with their earlier subject, “Well if it’s not too late after y’all’s talk and ya still wanna go.. just come find me.” 

She grinned up at him and nodded her head, “Okay I will.. Thanks Daryl.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence, just enjoying each other’s company. When they got to the doc’s house, Daryl knocked on the door and Beth stood at his side, looking nervous.

“Y’alright?”

“Yeah.. just hope he can tell me the baby’s okay is all,” she replied timidly. 

“Doc’s a good man. Carl found him.. he’s real good at this shit. Even patched me up a couple times.” When Beth grinned over at him, he was pretty proud of himself for being able to give her some peace of mind. 

The door opened a second later, so Daryl turned his attention to the man in front of him. “Hey doc.. this’s Beth-“

“Beth, hi! Maggie came by earlier and told me to be expecting you soon.” He reached out his hand and Beth shook it, “I’m Siddiq.. but most people just call me Doc,” he chuckled.

“Hi,” Beth replied sweetly. “... so you think you can tell me anything?” She asked, looking down at her belly.

“Of course, of course.. please, come in,” he said as he moved out of the way of the door, giving Beth room step in. 

Unsure of what to do, Daryl stayed back on the porch. He didn’t know if he was supposed to go in or if Beth would want to do this on her own. He figured he would just hang out here until she was done and then he would walk her back home. He reached into his pocket to grab his pack of cigarettes when Beth appeared in the doorway, looking anxious.

“Hey.. um.. would you be okay with maybe sittin’ with me. I just don’t want to be alone.. You don’t gotta if it’ll make you uncomfortable.” She added the last part quickly. 

Daryl quickly replaced his cigarette pack into his pocket and stepped forward, “Nah I’ll come.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, looking relieved.

Once inside, they both followed Siddiq to the living room that had been converted into a clinic. He directed Beth to hop up onto one of the patient tables and lay back. 

“I don’t have much I can do for you.. but I do have a fetal doppler and I read up on how to determine how far along you are.” When Beth gave him a hesitant look, he quickly clarified, “I know it’s not the most reassuring.. but I was a medical resident before.. I had just graduated actually. I know what I’m doing, it’s just been a while since I had to do anything concerning pregnancies. And with the lack of technology, it’s a little more difficult to work around.. but I promise you, I am confident in my abilities.” He smiled and tried to be reassuring. 

Beth relaxed on to the table and Daryl stood by her side. Siddiq picked up the hand held machine, but when he moved to lift Beth’s shirt up to place the wand on her stomach, Daryl saw her flinch the slightest bit. He knew it was probably a gut reaction to having a man she was unfamiliar with touching her, especially to lifting her shirt. Without thinking, he reached out to grab her hand in comfort. 

She looked up to him, and he quietly whispered, “It’s okay.” He knew he had done the right thing when she breathed out a sigh of relief and squeezed his hand in return. 

Siddiq knew there was a hidden meaning behind her reaction. He didn’t want to impede or upset her, so he busied himself with organizing his tools until Beth reached down and pulled her shirt up on her own. He moved slower this time, to show he wasn’t a threat and a few moments later, a soft whoosh-whoosh-whoosh sound emitted from the device. 

“That is your baby’s heartbeat,” he smiled at her. “Sounds good. Strong.”

Beth squeezed Daryl’s hand that she was still holding. When he looked down and saw the smile radiating from her, he couldn’t help but smile as well. She had the most perfect smile. He could forget about everything that was wrong with the world when she smiled at him like that. He wanted so badly to just lean down and kiss that smile, to see what it felt like against his lips. 

“Do you mind if I use this measuring tape to see if I can approximate how far along you are?” Siddiq asked her, interrupting his thoughts, causing Beth’s eyes to look away from his. Daryl was grateful the man had sensed her unease and was going forward cautiously. Feeling embarrassed by her previous reaction, Beth just nodded her head. 

After lining up the tape on her stomach, Siddiq looked to his notes before telling her, “If I’m correct, you should be close to six months along. Does that sound about right?”

“I.. I think so.. it was still spring time when we left Atlanta. I remember the flowers were in full bloom.” She looked to Daryl to see if that would be the right time frame. 

“Yeah six months sounds ‘bout right.. maybe five.” He nodded, pleased that Beth trusted his input. 

“Okay, well everything looks and sounds good. I’m afraid there isn’t much more I can do at this point besides advise you to take prenatal vitamins. I believe we may have some at the pantry. Carol should be able to get them for you.” 

“Thanks Doc,” Daryl reached out to shake Siddiq’s hand while Beth sat up and fixed her shirt. 

“Yes, thank you,” Beth shook his hand as well.

“Of course,” he smiled as he walked them to the door, “if you should have any questions, you know where to find me. Oh and if you notice any changes.. bleeding, pain, or if you notice the baby has stopped moving, come find me right away.” They said their goodbyes and started walking back down the street. 

Daryl could feel the relief pouring off of Beth and was glad he had been a part of being able to bring her that peace. Even in the middle of the day, with bright sunshine, she emitted a mesmerizing glow. He hadn’t seen anything like it before. She was sweet and caring and kind, but she was also a warrior and a damn good one at that. He didn’t think he would ever stop being amazed by her strength.

“Thank you for bringing me.. and for staying,” she told him shyly as they came to a stop in front of the two houses their family stayed in. 

“Anytime.. told ya girl, you need me, I’m there,” he replied honestly. A blush was visible along Beth’s neck, which had Daryl turning red as well. He knew he wasn’t the best at being sweet, and he hoped Beth didn’t think he was being weird. 

“I’m gonna head in. Maggie told me how y’all are fancy here and have hot water, so I think I’m gonna steal me a nice shower,” she teased. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

Daryl nodded and Beth turned to walk towards the house next door. She stopped after taking a step and turned back to him, looking unsure of herself. He was about to ask if everything was okay, but Beth stepped back to him and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. With a shaky voice, she whispered, “Thank you so much, Daryl.. for everything.” 

His arms instinctively went around her. He wasn’t sure why it was instinct. He had never had that reaction when anyone else had hugged him. Not like that had been a regular occurrence anyway. But when Beth did it, it was just natural for his hands to cross over her shoulders and pull her into him. He didn’t reply, but he knew Beth didn’t need him to. 

After a few moments, she slowly untangled herself from him and made her way to her new house. He watched her go and didn’t turn away until she gave him a small wave before closing the door. He went home and stood on the porch smoking a cigarette, trying to push down the need to be around her. He tried not to feel jealous that she would be spending the day with Maggie, but he couldn’t help it. He had spent so much time longing to see her, heartbroken about failing her. He just wanted to stay by her side to ensure she was safe at all times. He couldn’t think like that, though. _She wasn’t his_ , he had to remind himself for at least the tenth time in almost twenty four hours. Besides, she had made it this far without him. She didn’t need his protection anymore. 

He went inside and tried to keep himself busy for the rest of the afternoon, trying his best to not let his mind wander to the blonde next door. He cleaned his crossbow, checked his arrows, cleaned up in his room, took a shower, and made himself a late lunch, but he couldn’t help but think about her. He hoped things were going alright between the sisters, and he wondered what Maggie’s reaction to Beth being raped would be. 

He was sitting at the table, looking over some maps Aaron had brought over when he heard a knock at the door. If it was anyone else in their family, they would have just walked in, and nobody from the town ever really stopped by the house except for Aaron. Knowing it wasn’t him, since he had just came over a while ago with the maps, Daryl nearly jumped to answer the door. There was really only one person it would be. He didn’t want to sound crazy, but he couldn’t stop this feeling that had been nagging him all afternoon that she somehow needed him. 

His fears were met when he opened the door to Beth standing there, red eyed with dry tear marks streaked down her face. His heart sunk as she tried unsuccessfully to smile up at him, then said, “Hey.. is it too late to take you up on that hunt?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reviews! And thank you for the concern about the weather! We got down to the low double digits with a wind chill close to zero! Lost power for nearly 12 hours and lost water for some of that time as well. It was COLD! This southerner is definitely not built for that kind of thing lol.. it’s still not completely over, but I think it’s supposed to be back in the 70’s by the end of the weekend (at least I think that’s what I heard) and I can’t wait! Anyway, thanks again for everything!


	12. She was everything

“What happened?” Daryl asked her, immediately concerned at seeing how upset she was. 

Beth just shook her head, holding back a fresh wave of tears, “Can we just go.. please?”

Sensing he wasn’t going to be able to get anything out of her and not wanting to upset her further, he replied, “Yeah.. just let me grab a few things.” 

He quickly retrieved his bow and threw a few bottles of water and protein bars into his bag before meeting Beth back on the porch. “Come on.. we’ll take the bike.” 

After securing his bow and bag to the bike, he climbed on and turned to offer his hand to help Beth on. He stopped when he saw the nervous look on her face, and it dawned on him that it wasn’t the safest way to travel for a pregnant woman. He looked down at her belly and scolded himself for not thinking about it sooner.

“Sorry,” he said as he pulled his hand back, “Wasn’t thinkin’.. I can see if I can borrow Aaron’s car. Or we can just walk,” he offered, letting her decide which option she would be more comfortable with.

“Oh no it’s not that!” She reassured him. “I just.. I never been on a motorcycle before.” She looked down at her bump, then at the space behind Daryl. “You sure I’ll fit?”

Daryl laughed at that. A full blown laugh. It sounded strange even to his own ears. He wasn’t being rude, though, and she knew it so she grinned back at him with a pink blush on her cheeks. He felt that strange fluttering sensation in his stomach that he got anytime her smile was directed at him. She was just so cute and didn’t know it.

“Girl, get your ass on here,” he said, offering his hand again. She took it and climbed on behind him. When she wrapped her hands around him, he felt his breath catch. Flashes of being outside that shack, drunk on moonshine, with her hugging him from behind came to mind. 

“Is this alright?” She asked him, feeling his hesitation. 

He blinked his eyes to clear the memory. “Yeah.. it’s good. Just hold on tight, and when I turn, lean in with the turn.. but not too hard, ‘kay?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Dixon.” He could hear the smile in her words and was proud to think that he caused the shift in her mood. He would happily let her tease him all day if it kept her from being sad. A warmth spread throughout him when she leaned her head to rest between his shoulder blades as he cranked the bike and took off down the street. 

As they passed through the gates to exit Alexandria, he felt the tension leave Beth’s body. He was happy he could do this for her, but he hoped she would be willing to talk to him about what had her so upset. He wanted her to feel safe in the town and was ready to kick someone’s ass for how she had shown up on his doorstep. 

As he guided the bike down the road, he could feel her grip loosen slightly as she became more comfortable with the ride. He kind of wished she would stay holding tight and was tempted to speed up to see if he could get her to squeal with excitement and grip back onto him. He knew it sounded ridiculous, though, and wouldn’t dare risk her or her baby getting hurt. He had never carried such precious cargo on his bike, so he kept both hands on the handlebars and his eyes on the road ahead of him

He didn’t take them too far from Alexandria, just far enough to not feel the walls looming over their shoulders. When he pulled over a few miles out, he hopped off the bike and offered Beth his hand. Her legs were wobbly and as they gave out from under her, Daryl was quick to catch her, his arms going around her as she grabbed his shoulders. Their faces were so close that he could feel the breath as it left her lungs. His eyes flicked down to her mouth as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He nearly leaned those few inches in to brush his lips against hers, but at the last second, his nerves got the better of him. 

She had wanted to come out here because she was upset and wanted to get away. She didn’t need him making advancements on her, especially if they were so far away from home with nowhere for her to go if his actions scared her. He cursed himself for having thought about doing it and pulled away, trying not to notice what looked like disappointment crossing her face as he did so. 

After making sure she could stand on her own, he cleared his throat and told her, “Sorry.. shoulda warned ya it was rough on the legs your first time.” He blushed when he realized what he said could have a double meaning and hoped Beth didn’t catch on. 

Thankfully, she just shook her head, “It’s okay,” and stretched her legs out to get the feeling back into them. 

He grabbed his bag and bow and pushed the bike into the tree line to hide it before gesturing for Beth to follow him. He was proud to notice that she stayed just as quiet as him, her feet barely making the dead leaves crinkle underneath her. She was instantly attentive to her surroundings, checking the ground for tracks and tilting her head to listen for any disturbances near them. 

He smiled to himself when he thought about how loud and oblivious she had been when they first escaped the prison together. She was so eager to learn from him, then. He had been an ass at first, but she caught on quickly and had obviously not forgotten anything he taught her. He found a set of tracks quickly and looked over to Beth to see what she could tell him about it. 

She kneeled down to get a better look and took a moment to consider before answering “Rabbit.. heading that way,” she gestured to their left, “maybe an hour ago?”

“Good.. find it,” he instructed her. Offering his bow to her, he felt his stomach flutter at the way she smiled eagerly and took it from him. She knew he didn’t offer his bow up to just anyone. 

He followed behind her quietly, letting her full attention be on her prey. It felt like it did right before she had been taken. They had grown so close after burning the shack down. She had gotten good at tracking and he would often let her take the lead on hunts. Many nights, their stomachs had gotten full on what she had killed. He had never thought of himself as a good teacher. He was often grumpy and had snapped at her a few times at first, for not catching on right away. Seeing her now, though, he was glad she had been so inquisitive.

She followed the rabbit’s tracks perfectly, never losing its trail once. Daryl spotted it first but kept quiet, wanting her to have this moment. He watched as her eyes narrowed in on it and she lifted the bow with ease, not shaking under its weight like she had done the first few times she held it. Her breathing was even and right as she exhaled, she pulled the trigger. The bolt went sailing through the air and hit its target perfectly. He was already grinning when she turned to him with her face lit up in excitement. 

“Good work,” he told her proudly. 

Later, after Beth had set up a fire and Daryl skinned the rabbit, he cooked their food and they ate in quiet. They had taken comfort around the fire, keeping warm while their dinner digested, when Daryl looked over to her. He could tell that her earlier turmoils had crept back into her mind. She was looking off into the distance with a hint of sadness in her eyes. 

“Wanna talk about it?” He asked her quietly, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. God knows he never liked talking about his own problems with other people, but this was Beth and she didn’t need to keep her problems cooped up inside her. He wanted her to know that she could talk to him about it, if she wanted to. 

She kept quiet for a moment, then looked over to him before shrugging her shoulder. “I got in a fight with Maggie.”

Oh.

He hadn’t been expecting that. They had been so happy to see each other. He knew Beth had gone over to tell her about what happened at Grady, but he didn’t think it would cause an argument. He had been so sure someone else had upset her. He didn’t know what to say to that, so he kept quiet and gave Beth a moment for her to continue. 

“After I told her about Gorman, she was so upset and she was crying. She just kept saying ‘I should have listened to Daryl.’ And when I asked her what she meant.. she said she didn’t even try to look for me. She said it was her who talked you into leaving. That you wanted to stay and search, but she said y’all had to move on.” She was crying again, and Daryl felt that familiar wave of guilt crash down on him. 

He hung his head in shame. “Beth.. I-“

“I get that everyone was feeling lost, I do.. but my own sister? She just gave up on me that easily? I thought I meant more to her than that.” She wiped at her tears, but it did no good because more continued to fall. 

Daryl felt his own tears prickle behind his closed eyes. He didn’t want her to feel like she meant nothing. She was everything. 

“I’m sorry, Beth.. I shoulda stayed..” He didn’t know what he could possibly say to make up for his actions; there was no excuse. 

“No!” She told him fiercely, causing him to look up and meet her eyes. “I’m not saying y’all should have stayed and looked for me.. I’m just hurt that it was her that was so eager to move on.. She wouldn’t have left if it would have been Glenn taken. I told her that, and all she could do was stand there, looking guilty!” Her shoulders slumped and she looked defeated. Daryl agreed with what she said, but he didn’t want to admit it out loud to her. It would just upset her more. 

He wanted to try to comfort her; he knew how much she had missed her sister and wanted them to be able to get past this. “Beth.. I think she was just scared-“

“Don’t defend her!” She was getting mad now.

“I’m not tryin’ to defend her.. I just-“ He was trying to backtrack now. He was lost at how to make this better, if he even could. 

She stood up and started pacing back and forth, fuming. “She was supposed to have my back, Daryl! She’s my _sister_!I was so happy to find her again.. I thought things would be good.. I thought she would be there for me so I wouldn’t have to do this alone.” She finished, looking down at her belly and shaking her head. 

“You’re not alone, Beth,” he stood up as well, trying to catch her attention. 

“You tried.. right?” She had stopped walking and her head hung low as she spoke softly, but her words reached his ears clearly. “To find me?”

He slowly walked around the fire pit to stand in front of her as she continued, her anger now dissolving back to despair, “I know it’s probably just stupid pregnancy hormones,” tears were falling again, “But I just need to know that.. that I’m important to someone.” She brought a hand up to cover her eyes as she cried into it. 

“Chased after that damn car all night,” he told her, his voice thick with emotion. Her hand came down and she sniffled as she listened intently. “I tried to keep going, I did, but.. but I lost the trail. I had nothin’ to go off of.. didn’t know where to go. It’s my fault, girl.. if you’re gonna be mad at someone, it should be me. I tried with everything I had.. it just wasn’t good enough.” He felt like he had been punched in the gut for revealing that to her. He didn’t want it to be a secret; she deserved to know the truth, but it still hurt horribly to say it out loud. He kept his head hung because he didn’t know how to deal with this pain and was terrified to see her reaction. “Beth, I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he sure didn’t expect Beth’s arms to wrap around him when they did. He let his head fall to her neck as he took a trembling breath. 

He voice was barely above a whisper when she finally responded to him, “I missed you so much, Daryl.” 

“Missed you too, girl.. just like you said I would.”

When she pulled back from him, he looked right into her eyes, trying to communicate the truth in his words. She held his gaze for a moment before her eyes flicked down to his lips then jumped back up to meet his eyes. She looked unsure of herself, but Daryl hoped he had read her correctly. He didn’t want to mess this up or upset her further but he had made a promise to himself a long time ago that if he ever had the chance, then he would lay it all on the line for her. He didn’t want to spend another moment not knowing if she felt the same way. Before he could think on it any longer, he wrapped one hand around her waist to pull her in closer, while his other hand gently tangled into the back of her hair. He hesitated for a moment, looking into her eyes to see if there was any doubt or fear. When he saw nothing resembling that, he slowly lowered his mouth and sealed his lips to hers. When he felt her freeze underneath him, he started to panic thinking he had been wrong, but then she sighed into the kiss as her arms moved to wrap around his neck. He didn’t think he would ever forget the feeling of the sparks that shot throughout his body. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh finally.. a kiss!!!!


	13. Just another damn Dixon

Daryl couldn’t believe he was finally kissing Beth Green. He had spent so long thinking about this moment and wondering if he would ever get this chance. It was better than he could have ever imagined.

She was so soft. Everything about her was soft; her hair, the small patch of skin on her back where his hand rested, the breath she was exhaling through her nose, the hands that were wrapped around his head holding onto him gently, and her lips. He could still taste the gaminess of the rabbit on them, mixed with the saltiness of tears she had shed. He had the sudden urge to lick all of it away.

He opened his mouth the slightest bit and let his tongue push against her lips. He went slow, wanting to give her the chance to shut him down if she wasn’t ready for that, but she responded eagerly and opened to allow him in. She groaned when his tongue slid into her mouth and his whole body came alive.

He needed to be closer to her, to feel more of her. He was suddenly too hot, so he quickly removed his jacket before returning his hands to her body and pulling her closer. This was better, but he needed more. He walked her gently backwards until she collided with the tree behind her, Daryl’s hands cushioning the back of her from the bark.

Her head tilted up just a little more to give him better access to her mouth and he kissed her harder, trying to translate all of his emotions into it. He wasn’t much of a talker, but this.. this he could do. She kissed him back equally as hard as she tugged on his hair. He pulled his mouth away from her and ducked into the crook of her neck. The sounds she made as he nipped and sucked on the skin over her pulse made his head spin. The sensation she sent through his body was unlike anything he had ever felt before and goosebumps popped up all over him. Electricity jumped throughout his whole body and he craved more.

She used her grip on his hair to pull his face back up to hers and he responded eagerly, kissing her like she was the oxygen he needed to survive. She stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him deeper, and his hands instinctively went down to cup under her ass. They both moaned into each other’s mouths, and Daryl lifted her up, desperate to have as little space between them as possible. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed her back into the tree. He hadn’t realized how hard he was until he pushed himself between her legs and his breath caught. Nothing had ever felt this amazing. His body buzzed as he released a moan and pushed into her a little harder, chasing that feeling of bliss he got from the friction of his center pressing into hers.

Her whole body went stiff and he froze, immediately yanked from the trance he had been in. He pulled back slightly, releasing the suction he had on her mouth and rested his forehead against hers. His whole body was shaking from the excitement and he was breathing like he had just run a marathon. He noticed Beth was shaking and breathing hard as well, and he hoped to God it wasn’t because he had scared her. He had lost control and probably freaked her out. He cursed himself as he helped her lower her legs to the ground, afraid to look her in the face.

Not trusting the shakiness of his voice, he closed his eyes and quietly mumbled, “Sorry.. I..-.”

“Please don’t apologize for that,” she interrupted him. She cupped his face to coax him to look back into her eyes, and when he did, she gave him a nervous grin. “I liked it.. really.. I just don’t want to go too fast, ya know.”

He relaxed into her touch when he saw the truthfulness in her eyes. He hadn’t messed up. She wasn’t pissed at him or afraid, so he let out a breath of relief. 

Needing to feel her skin to ground himself, he reached up with one hand to cup her face and rubbed his thumb along her cheek bone before replying, “Of course.. whatever you need.”

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, making him feel even more confident that he hadn’t screwed up. He leaned forward place a soft kiss on her forehead, and when he pulled back, she was looking at him again. He could tell she wanted to say something, but she looked afraid to say it.

“Talk to me, girl.” He told her softly.

She bit her lip and looked away from him before whispering, “I just.. I want us to do this right.. but I ain’t ever done it before.. besides, ya know..” She looked down at her belly and ran a hand along it.

Daryl’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach as the realization hit him. Beth had been a virgin when she was raped. That thought had never even crossed his mind. It wasn’t that he actively thought about her sex life, but he had known her to have two boyfriends since he met her, so he had just assumed.

His stomach turned sour at the thought of what could have happened if she hadn’t froze up when she did. He might have screwed her right up against that tree, and that would have been her first experience besides that prick, Gorman. He felt disgusted with himself. She deserved so much better, and he was stupid for even thinking he could give that to her. He could feel the panic starting to build up inside of him and needed to get out of here.

“We should get back,” he mumbled as he pulled away from her.

“Daryl.. wait.. I-,” she tried to stop him, but he was too mad at himself to hear the pleading in her voice.

“Gonna lose the sunlight soon,” he said, turning his back on her to gather his things. He didn’t see the look of hurt that crossed her face at his rejection, but he could hear her putting out the fire and following behind him back to the motorcycle.

The ride back to town was quiet, as Daryl was lost in his own self hatred. He felt like he wasn’t much better than Gorman. He wouldn’t have done nothing she didn’t want to. There wasn’t a chance in hell he would ever force her, but he hadn’t been gentle and treated her with respect like she deserved. Beth was the kind of girl you brought flowers to and took your time with, making her feel as special as she is. Not screw her up against a tree the first time you kiss her. That was something his father or brother would have done. He wasn’t any better than them, no matter how much he thought he had changed. He was just another damn Dixon, and that same blood ran in his veins.

When they got back to Alexandria, Daryl came to a stop in front of the house Beth should be staying at with Maggie. He wasn’t sure if Beth wanted to see her yet, but he had nowhere else to bring her. She didn’t say anything, so he guessed she was okay with it as she climbed off the bike with more ease than the first time. He couldn’t look her in the face. He was too afraid of what he might see there. He knew he had hurt her feelings, having heard the quiet sniffles behind him on the ride back, but he couldn’t get past his self loathing enough to confront it.

She turned to him once she was clear of the bike. He could see her feet facing him out of the corner of his eyes, and he knew she was about to try to talk to him. He couldn’t talk right now, though, so he drove off, feeling every bit the coward he was.

He drove next door to his house and parked his bike in the garage so he could make his escape inside without being tempted to look back at her. If he saw her still standing on the side of the street, he was afraid he might race back over and beg for forgiveness. She deserved better than him, though, so he kept his eyes down and made his way into the house.

Rick and Michonne were sitting in the kitchen, talking, when he came in through the side door. He didn’t look at them as he made his way around the island to head towards his room, but he stopped as he heard Michonne call out to him.

“Hey, you seen Beth? Maggie came by earlier looking for her. Looked upset.”

“Just dropped her off,” he grunted, keeping his eyes on the floor.

“Everything okay?” Rick spoke up, sensing Daryl’s demeanor.

Resuming his walk to his room, he muttered, “Peachy.” He sure as hell wasn’t about to talk to them about it.

Once inside his room, he dropped his bow and bag onto the floor before sitting on the edge of his bed. His leg bounced from his nerves and he ran a hand over his face. He couldn’t believe how close he had came to doing that to her. The only solace he found in his actions was that he had stopped the moment she froze up. He hadn’t pushed to go further. That meant he was better than his bloodline, right? They wouldn’t have stopped. Especially not his father. He wasn’t Will Dixon.

He stood up and started pacing his room. The walls seemed to be closing in on him, though. Being inside always seemed to do that to him, but it had gotten better lately. That cagey feeling he normally had started to go away the longer they were in Alexandria. Now, he felt like it was hard to breathe in here. He should have just dropped Beth off and went back outside the walls. Maybe he should do that now. He should hop on his bike and move his few belongings to one of the safe houses. He could keep watch on them from there. Beth needed to find someone who was good for her. She could make herself a nice little family here with someone better. He was a fool for thinking he could be that guy.

The way she had stood there next to his bike, though. She had wanted to talk to him, and he blew her off. What if she thought he was mad at her? She was the type to think that she had done something wrong. He needed to explain to her before he left; she deserved that much.

Before he could do any of that, he needed to calm this panic attack that had creeped up on him. His heart was beating entirely too fast, and he was starting to get tunnel vision. He was sure he had circled his room enough times to cut right through the carpet into the wood beneath. He needed to clear his head and let his nerves settle, if they even could. The best way he knew to do that was to smoke a cigarette. Checking his pocket to make sure they were still there, he quit his pacing and walked to his door.

Right as he flung it open and took a step to walk out, he was met by Beth standing in front of him with her hand raised to knock on his door. They both froze mid-movement and just stared at each other. Her cheeks were puffy and he knew he had been the cause of her crying this time. He felt lower than dirt knowing he had done it, but he knew if he stayed, then it wouldn’t be the last time he made her cry. He couldn’t take that, and that’s why he needed to tell her he was leaving. He had hoped he would have a chance to prepare his goodbye speech to her, but the universe never was on his side.

Not wanting to drag her outside to have this talk where others could maybe hear, he reached out to grab her hand. “Come on,” he said quietly, and gently pulled her in to his room. Shutting the door behind them, he watched as she went to stand by his window and look outside.

He heard her take a deep breath before she spoke, “Daryl.. I’m sorry if I-“

“No,” he interrupted her. He needed to be the one to explain things and to apologize. There wasn’t anything she needed to be sorry for.

She turned to look at him, confused. “Y’ain’t done nothin’ wrong. You just.. you need someone better than me, Beth.. I ain’t no good for you.. don’t know how to treat you the way you deserve. I ain’t built like that,” he told her from his spot by the door, afraid to move.

Her face fell. “I thought you wanted me.” He didn’t think he had ever heard her sound so broken.

He had told himself he would tell her everything, no matter how much it hurt, so he took a deep breath before replying, “I ain’t ever wanted somethin’ as much as I want you.” He shook his head as he made his confession. It might kill him, but she needed to know the truth. “But I gotta go, Beth. I can’t stay here..”

“What? Go where?”

“Gonna move out to one of the safe houses. Stay out there and keep watch for the town.”

“But.. if you want me, then why do you have to go?” She pleaded with him. She just didn’t get it.

God this was going to hurt, but he had to do it. She had to understand. “We can’t be together, Beth-“

“Was it something I did?” The tears started making their familiar tracks down her face and he wanted to kick himself. “Is it ‘cause I let him do that to me?”

“No-“

“Cause I didn’t want it, Daryl. I swear-“ her voice trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself.

He needed to fix this, and he needed to fix it fast. She couldn’t think like that. “Hey,” he cut her off, “it ain’t nothin like that, okay? It’s me that’s fucked up. I almost lost control with you out there.. I can’t trust myself to be around you. I won’t let you get hurt again because of me.”

She took a step towards him as she looked him in the eyes. “You won’t hurt me, Daryl. You’re not a bad guy,” she told him softly with tears still leaking down her face. His hands itched with the desire to wipe them away for her. She was too beautiful to cry this much. He didn’t, though. It wasn’t his place.

“How can you look at me and see something good?” He questioned her. “Ain’t nothing good about me. Look where I come from, Beth. What happened to you.. that’s somethin’ my dad would do. That’s in my blood. I can’t.. I won’t do that to you.” It hurt so much to tell her his fears, but she needed to know.

She stepped closer to him and stood toe to toe as she looked up into his eyes. “We already had this talk, remember? You gotta leave it all behind.. if not, it’ll kill you.”

He breathed in deeply, trying to absorb her words. He wanted to believe her, but this was different. This time it was her that he ran the risk of hurting. “I can’t.”

“You can.. Besides,” she said, looking down at her feet, “you don’t think I’ve been fighting my own battle with this?” Now it was his turn to be confused as he looked to her with a question in his eyes.

“Daryl I have felt so.. dirty.. ever since it happened. No amount of soap or water has made it go away.. I can’t seem to get him off of me,” she shuddered as if she was trying to force away the memory, “but it’s better when I’m with you. I was terrified that you wouldn’t want me after you found out about it. And it’s not just me now,” she ran a hand across her stomach. “It’s wrong of me to ask you to be a part of this.. I know that. A big part of me said I should just keep my mouth shut and move on. My emotional baggage isn’t your responsibility. But I’m in love with you, Daryl Dixon.. and if I didn’t tell you, then I’d never forgive myself for not trying.. You think it’s me that deserves more.. it’s not.”

Daryl’s lungs felt like they were about to cave in. How could she think she wasn’t good enough for him? She was perfect. He wanted to find Gorman’s rotting corpse and shred it to pieces for making her feel like she was filthy. His brain slowly digested what she said as he looked down at her. She was shaking and she looked so unsure of herself, but he needed to make sure he had heard her correctly.

“You’re in love with me?” He asked timidly.

She bit her lip as she looked up to him and nodded. “Yeah.. I am.”

He didn’t think he was good enough for her, he wasn’t sure if he ever could be. But if she had so much faith in him, then maybe he could try to have some faith in himself. He could be better, for her.

He brought his hands up to cup her face and he leaned down to place a gentle kiss to her lips. Her arms went around his head as she sighed into it, and his hands moved down around her waist. He pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss, trying to put forth all of his emotions into it.

Remembering what had happened the last time he kissed her like this, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. He didn’t want her to think he was trying to push her to go further. Besides, she had been brave enough to admit her feelings. He couldn’t leave her with any doubt about his.

He looked into her eyes as he grinned and told her, “I love you too girl.”

Her face lit up with her bright smile as she pulled him back down to her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I break my own heart with how much I make Daryl hate himself. I’m horrible, I know.. but doesn’t your heart just melt for him? Ugh I love him.. thank you again for the reviews!!


	14. It ain’t their business

Making-out was a term Daryl had always hated. It just sounded ridiculous. It was never an activity he had enjoyed, either. Anytime he had ever been with a woman, kissing was kept to a minimum. He wasn’t comfortable with that level of intimacy. 

But he could make-out with Beth anytime. 

There was just something about her that was so addicting. The way she tasted, the way she pulled on his hair, the little sounds she made when he nipped at her bottom lip, the way her ass fit perfectly into the palms of his hands. It was a high he never wanted to come down from. He craved more of it, which is why he reluctantly pulled back from her.

They were both breathing hard as Daryl leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder before telling her, “We gotta stop.” 

“Everything okay?” He could hear the concern in her voice, so he pulled back to look in her eyes as he grinned.

“Yeah.. just..,” he looked down at his pants that held a bulge before looking back up at her and quirking an eyebrow. 

He watched as she looked down and caught on to his meaning. Her eyes shot back up to his. With a blush on her cheeks, she grinned guiltily and mumbled, “Sorry.”

“I just.. you said ya wanted to take it slow.. so.. figured we should stop now before I push too far,” he admitted, feeling like a creep. He wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to; he wouldn’t. He was just concerned she would be too nervous to speak up if she became uncomfortable. 

He knew he had done the right thing when she smiled at him, appreciatively. “Thanks.”

He leaned down and gave a quick peck to her lips. Resisting the urge to deepen it, he pulled back and blew out a puff of air. “Think i need a cigarette. Wanna come sit with me?” 

She smiled as she nodded her head and reached down to lace their fingers together. Holding hands was another thing Daryl had never seen the appeal of. What was the point in holding on to someone who was walking right next to you? He understood it now, though, as he felt her warmth seep into his body. It was calming and just felt good. He felt like he could do this forever, too. 

He thought he could, until he opened the door to his bedroom right as Carol happened to be walking by on her way to the staircase. He dropped Beth’s hand instantly as Carol turned to them, missing the look of disappointment on Beth’s face. Carol smiled at him and looked like she was about to say something before noticing Beth standing behind him. She looked between the two and smirked before saying, “I’m headed to bed.. see you two later.” 

Daryl gave a nod of his head as Beth said, “Goodnight.” He really hoped Carol hadn’t seen anything. 

Carol made to walk off but turned back right at the base of the stairs, “Oh, Beth.. Maggie said you needed some prenatals. I dropped them off to her earlier when y’all were out. I figured you were staying over there with her.”

“Oh.. I am. Thanks, Carol.”

Daryl felt his whole face turn red with embarrassment. He knew Carol had her subtle way of finding things out, but he still wanted to shoo her away. Whatever was going on between him and Beth wasn’t anyone’s business. He wasn’t prepared for the judgment from everyone else yet. He knew he was older than Beth and rough around the edges. He wasn’t good enough for her, but he would try. Others might not see it that way, and he didn’t want them to look down on him or Beth for it. 

Carol bid them goodnight again and made her way upstairs as Daryl walked out onto the porch with Beth trailing behind him. She moved to sit on the steps as he leaned against the railing. Quickly pulling out a cigarette to light, he inhaled the smoke deeply to try to calm his anxiety. He closed his eyes as the nicotine rushed through his blood stream. 

He would deal with Carol tomorrow. If she came to pester him about why Beth was in his room this late in the evening, then he would just tell her they were talking. If it was anyone else, he’d tell them to piss off, but Carol was like a sister to him. They shared a bond that he didn’t have with the rest of the group. He still liked his privacy, though, so he wasn’t about to tell her everything.

“Are you embarrassed to be with me?” Beth’s small voice piped up through his thoughts. He looked down at her sitting on the top step as she looked out into the night, not meeting his questioning gaze. 

“The hell would I be embarrassed for?” He asked a little rougher than he intended. He was pretty sure he had caught her meaning, but he had been through a lot of emotions today and wasn’t sure just how much more he could take. 

“I dunno.. just thought with the way you acted when you saw Carol-“ 

“It ain’t their business, alright?” He cut her off, irritation beginning to creep into his body. He tried to push it back, but he was tired in both his body and mind. 

“I ain’t tryin’ to be in no secret relationship, Daryl,” she said, irritation creeping into her voice as well. 

“Ain’t secret.. just don’t gotta show it off in front of ‘em.. Like I said, it ain’t their business.” He knew that he was screwing this up, but he was tired and he didn’t want to explain his real fears. Even though he wouldn’t say them out loud, he was getting aggravated at her for not catching on. 

She shook her head as she said, “It’s not showing off.. it’s like.. just being there to help you feel calm and happy.”

“Don’t need to be hangin all over each other in front of people to feel happy,” he challenged her. 

He watched as she stood up before saying, “I’m gonna go.” She looked over at him expectantly, but he didn’t know what she wanted. 

“Alright,” he grumbled. They were both in a pissy mood and he knew he was the cause of it, but he couldn’t find it in himself to try to fix things right now. If she wanted to go, then he wasn’t going to stop her.

Her shoulders slumped as she turned and shook her head before walking off. He quickly finished his cigarette before flicking it off the porch and storming back inside. Going into his room, he shed his jacket at the foot of his bed and climbed in, hoping to shut his brain off for a few hours. 

This thing between him and Beth was new. He didn’t want everyone else knowing about it yet. Why couldn’t she understand that? She should have known he wouldn’t want people judging him for this. They would look at him like he was taking advantage of her. He couldn’t deal with that right now. Not when he had fought so hard to prove himself to their family. He had been brave enough to admit his feelings to her. Why couldn’t that be enough for now? She would just have to suck it up for the time being, he told himself as he tossed and turned throughout the night. 

He wasn’t sure at what point he had finally dozed off, but he woke up to the sun streaming in through his window, feeling as though he had just closed his eyes. He felt miserable. His anger had finally calmed and he felt like an ass. Beth hadn’t asked him to profess his love in front of the whole world. All she had done was question if he had been embarrassed by her. He would have felt the same way, too, if she would have dropped his hand as quickly as he had done hers at the thought of someone discovering them. The only difference was Beth wouldn’t have done that to him. She would have held his hand proudly.

Her ran a hand over his face, asking himself if he would ever be able to do anything right for her. She didn’t deserve his irrational anger. All he would have had to do was tell her what was bothering him. She would have understood. She would have talked him through it. Talking just wasn’t one of his strong points, though. It had been beaten into him that men didn’t talk about their feelings, and they sure as hell weren’t scared of nothing. It made you look weak. Talking was at the top of the list of things he would have to work on if he wanted this relationship to continue. And he really, really wanted it to. 

He climbed out of bed and grabbed a fresh set of clothes, hoping a shower would help him feel better. He would find Beth and apologize right after he was done. Hopefully she would be willing to even talk to him after the way he had treated her. He wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. 

As he stood under the warm spray of water, he found himself wondering what Beth even saw in him. He was a jerk most of the time. He was distant and closed off. His manners were practically nonexistent. He definitely didn’t think he was attractive. But for some reason, she wanted him. At least, he hoped she still did. 

“Fuck,” he grumbled to himself as he shut off the water and climbed out. 

He got dressed quickly and slipped out of the house before anyone who was awake could stop and talk to him. Walking next door, he caught himself yawning from the lack of sleep he had gotten and hoped Beth had been able to rest better than he had. She was pregnant and didn’t need the extra stress that came along with his random foul moods. 

Thinking of her pregnancy, it got Daryl wondering where he stood when it came to her baby. If they were going to be together, then would she want him to act as a father figure to her child? Could he fill that roll? Or would he be as bad as his own father had been? He couldn’t stand the thought of treating Beth’s child like that. He would rather kill himself than ever harm a child, especially hers. Would she ever see his snappy behavior and not want him around anymore? Would he lose his temper one day and strike the child?

He hadn’t been like that with Judith, though. He had done everything in his power to protect her and make sure she was fed and clothed. So he had already proven to himself that he wasn’t like his father, right? He could be a good man and he could be a good dad. That thought brought an unexpected flutter in his stomach. He could be a good dad. 

When he got to the house, he knocked on the door and waited, hoping Beth would be the one to answer. Instead, Maggie opened the door. If looks could kill, then the way hers eyes were shooting daggers at him would have had him dropping dead at her feet. 

“You got any idea as to why my sister was up crying half the night?” She spit out.

Yep.. he had really fucked up. 

When he didn’t answer, she continued, “She was with you last, wasn’t she?” He had to fight to keep his head from hanging in shame.

Maggie didn’t have any room to talk, though. Beth had shown up at his door crying because of a fight they had gotten into yesterday afternoon. She must have forgotten that she was the cause of some of her sister’s distress. He was just about to tell her so, when Beth’s voice piped up behind her. 

“Maggie, stop,” She pleaded, coming around the door. Daryl got a good look at her then and realized she must have slept just as bad as he did. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy. 

“Beth, you got home late last night, so upset, refusing to talk with me about it-“

Daryl almost felt a little pride that Beth had been so comfortable with talking to him about her fight with Maggie, but wouldn’t talk to her sister about him. Almost. Until he thought about how the two people who loved her the most had made her cry on the same day. 

“I don’t need you to handle this,” Beth scolded her sister, giving her a look that said she was done with the conversation. Maggie got the hint and walked off back into the house, shaking her head and muttering under her breath. 

Beth stepped out onto the porch and shut the door behind her. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she looked up to Daryl nervously. He could tell she was about to apologize; it was just in her nature to try to fix things even if they weren’t her fault. He wasn’t going to let her do that here, though.

“Beth.. I was wrong,” he admitted right as she opened her mouth to speak. She closed it as she looked down, giving him the chance to continue. “I panicked, okay? With Carol. I just.. I’m afraid of what everything will think if they see us together,” he told her truthfully. She deserved the truth. 

She looked back up to him with a question in her eyes but didn’t speak. “I’m a lot older than you, ya know? And you just got back.. and you went through this trauma.. I just don’t want ‘em thinking’ I was takin’ advantage of you or somethin’. Plus everyone knows I didn’t have the best childhood. Don’t want ‘em to think I’m gonna be abusive, too.. ya know, apple don’t fall far from the tree type shit.” He did it. He told her his fears, and he didn’t give himself a panic attack in the process. Progress, right? 

He watched as her face turned from confused to a bit of sadness before she spoke softly, “Daryl.. do you really think our family would think of you like that?” 

He knew it sounded ridiculous, but he couldn’t help the way he felt. His whole life he had been treated like he was lower than dirt. Undeserving of anything good. It had been so ingrained in him that he still caught himself thinking that way sometimes. 

He didn’t think he could speak, so he looked away as he brought his thumb up to his mouth to chew on the skin around it while he shrugged one shoulder. 

“Hey,” she said, reaching out to pull his hand down and to catch his eyes with hers. “You are a good man, Daryl Dixon. I know it. Our family knows it. They wouldn’t think anything like that.”

He wanted to believe it. In fact, he was pretty sure she was right. It still didn’t settle the self doubt he held, though, so he gave her a skeptical look. 

“But I understand,” she told him, looking down to the hand she was still holding onto. “If you aren’t comfortable with people knowing yet, then we just won’t say anything. Alright?” 

She was so amazing. Here he was, acting ridiculous over the whole ordeal, and she was still understanding. This girl deserved so much more. He was definitely going to have to work harder at this to even give her a fraction of what she deserved.

His words still failed him, so he just nodded his head.

She brightened up, then, and smiled before she teased, “If it wouldn’t make you freak out, I’d say we could kiss and make up.”

He couldn’t fight the grin that popped up on his face at her words. That did sound enticing. He tried nonchalantly to look around to check his surroundings and make sure nobody was watching them, when he heard Beth let out a small giggle. 

When he saw the coast was clear, he pulled the hand that was still holding on to his and mumbled, “Come here,” before leaning his head down and kissing her gently on the lips. 

As soon as their mouths connected, he felt as they both relaxed. They had been so wound up from last night and just needed to clear the air. He felt as if he should apologize again for upsetting her, but he didn’t want to pull away enough to do so. 

Instead, he brought his hand up to cup her cheek as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against hers. Her small moan made his tired body come alive as she wrapped her hands around his neck. His other hand went to her lower back to pull her closer. He was so addicted to the way she made him feel. It was better than any drug he had ever taken. Her mouth worked against his as he stepped into her, pushing her up against the door behind her. One of her hands slid down his back until she reached his backside, pulling his lower halfin to meet hers as she sighed into his mouth. The moment they connected, he moaned as he saw sparks ignite behind his closed eyes. He reached down to grab her ass and pushed into her again, wanting to continue feeling that rush. She had just lifted a leg to wrap around him to give him better access when a door next door shut, echoing throughout the small street. 

Daryl pulled himself away quickly, looking around to see Sasha coming out of the house and walking out towards the side walk. She hadn’t even noticed the two of them standing on the porch next-door to her, breathing heavily and looking like deer caught in the headlights. As she walked off in the opposite direction, Daryl heard Beth chuckle as she said said, “Sorry.”

He looked back at her and she bit her lip. He was half-tempted to bend down and suck it out from between her teeth, but didn’t want to run the risk of another interruption. Besides, he shouldn’t be doing things like that out in public anyway. 

He shook his head as he felt his face heat up. “Gonna be the death of me, girl,” he told her with a grin of his own. 

She laughed out loud at that, which made his grin turn into a full blown smile. That laugh was the best sound he had ever heard and he hoped he could always make her do that. 

“Are we good?” He asked shyly, wanting to make sure their fight was completely over.

She kept her smile as she replied, “Yeah, we’re good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They are adorable and poor Daryl is so unsure of himself.. Thank you for the reviews. And if you haven’t left one, please consider doing so! It makes me smile and I appreciate it greatly!!


	15. W

After parting ways with Beth, Daryl made his way home to grab some food. He would have liked to spend the day with her, but she had mentioned wanting to check in on Noah and catch up with everyone. Not wanting to make her feel guilty for not spending time with him, he made quick plans to go on a hunt. The idea of getting outside the walls by himself for a while did sound relaxing. He just needed to stop at the house to grab a few things.

Walking in through the side door, he ran into Rick in the kitchen. He had been rooting through the cabinets but looked up when he heard Daryl enter.

“Hey man,” he said as he dug around the few cans scattered about.

“Hey,” he said, nodding towards the cabinets, “we running low on food?”

Rick chuckled as he shook his head, “Nah.. just not in the mood for any of this.” He waved his hand towards the cans. “Been craving something fresh.”

He had originally planned on going out alone, but he hadn’t hung out with Rick in a while. If the man wanted something fresh, Daryl had the perfect solution for that. “Going out on a hunt if ya wanna go.. gonna try to bag a deer.”

Rick’s face lit up at that, “Hell ya.. let me go make sure Carl’s good with Judith for a little bit.” He made his way out of the kitchen, slapping Daryl on the shoulder as he walked by. 

Daryl snacked on a granola bar as he packed up his bow and bag and went to stand on the porch while he waited for Rick. He had just finished a cigarette when the other man joined him outside. As they walked down to the gates, Daryl kept an eye out for Beth, hoping to catch a glimpse of her before he left. To his dismay, she was nowhere in sight, so Daryl turned his eyes forward, trusting he would see her this afternoon. 

Once outside the town, Daryl took a worn down path into the cluster of trees to their right. He had used this path quite often and was usually successful in tracking down some form of prey.The path would lead them a few hundred yards away from town. It would go far enough for animals to feel safe wandering about, but close enough for them to race back to town in case of an emergency. 

After tracking for nearly three hours, Daryl had a catch of four squirrels, two rabbits, and a possum. Rick was shit at hunting, but it was nice to spend that time with him. Daryl looked at Rick like he was a brother, and his opinion meant a lot to Daryl. Part of the reason he hadn’t minded Rick coming out on this hunt was because he had wanted them to talk in private. Daryl could trust him with his secrets and trust him not to pass judgement on the situation. 

Looking over at Rick, Daryl took in a deep breath to prepare himself. “Don’t think we gonna find us a deer today,” he shrugged to test the waters.

“Nah.. that’s alright. Fresh meat’s fresh meat. It’ll be a nice break from canned food,” Rick smiled over at him as they stopped for a water break. 

Leaning back against a tree behind him, Daryl brought his hand up to his mouth and started chewing on the skin around his thumb. Rick wouldn’t talk down to him, but his nerves were still making him antsy. 

He cleared his throat before saying, “Hey man.. I uhh.. I wanna talk to ya about somethin’.” 

Rick looked curiously at him from over the top of his water bottle before swallowing the last bit and tossing it in his bag. “Everything alright?”

“Ya.. things are good,” he said, shifting his eyes to the ground. He didn’t want to have to look at Rick’s face if he was disappointed. “Real good.. uh.. me and Beth.. things are.. I..”

God he really felt like an idiot. Talking was never his strength, but it had never been this much of a weakness. What he was about to say wasn’t just going to affect him, though. 

But it was time to man up. Beth deserved a man who could stand up in front of others proudly and say he loved her. He might not be able to do that yet, but he could do this. He took a deep breath before looking up into Rick’s eyes and saying, “Me and Beth are together.”

Rick’s still stature had Daryl frozen on the spot. The man just stood there, looking at him as if what he had said hadn’t sunken in yet. After a few moments, Rick blinked and said, “Is that it?” 

Daryl felt about as confused as Rick looked. What did he mean ‘is that it’? He hadn’t looked disgusted, pissed off, or even surprised. It was like he was telling Rick something he had already known. 

“Uhh.. yeah.. I guess”

“Well, hell, man.. you looked like you was about to give me some bad news,” Rick chuckled as he made his way over to Daryl and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m happy for ya brother.”

Daryl could feel the weight lifting from his shoulders at his best friend’s approval. “Yeah?”

Rick smiled as he nodded, “Yeah.. was wondering when you two would figure it out.”

When Daryl looked over to him, confused, he laughed and told him, “The way you two look at each other.. figured it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

Daryl could feel his face turning red with his embarrassment. He hadn’t thought he had been so obvious. If Rick had noticed, he wondered who else had. The others might not have kept quiet about it, though. They probably would have said something, whether pissed off or in approval. 

“Shut up,” he grumbled good-naturedly when he noticed Rick smiling at his awkwardness. 

Rick bit back his smile as he peered around him to take in their surroundings. “You ‘bout ready to head back?” 

Daryl looked down at his catch and figured it would have to do for today. He hadn’t killed a deer like he would have liked to, but it would be enough to feed his family for tonight. Maybe he could convince Beth to help him track a deer in the next few days. He hadn’t minded Rick coming along. It had been the perfect opportunity to speak with him about everything. But Beth was such a natural when it came to tracking and actually keeping quiet while on the hunt, unlike Rick. He smiled to himself when he thought about how pleased she would be if he told her as much. 

“Yeah.. we’ll see if we can get Carol or Sasha to cook us up a stew or somethin’.”

“Now that sounds like a fine-,” 

A gunshot in the distance cut Rick’s excitement off. Both men quickly turned towards the direction the sound had come from as Rick questioned worriedly, “That come from home?”

“Yeah.. but just one shot? The hell-,” Daryl was in the middle of throwing his bag over his shoulder when another shot echoed through the woods. 

Panic flooded his body as they both took off running full speed back towards Alexandria.

“Something’s wrong.. they wouldn’t just be firing off like that!” Rick called out behind him. 

Daryl didn’t reply. He could feel it in his guts that something was wrong. Pushing his body as hard as he could, he trampled over the rough terrain, not feeling any of the scratches or cuts from tree branches as he pushed past them. All he could focus on was getting home. He had to find Beth. She had to be okay. 

More and more shots rang out around them as both men raced in the direction of Alexandria. Daryl cursed himself for even leaving that morning. He should have stuck around the town. He should have been there. 

Finally the walls came into view, but it brought little comfort because there was smoke rising up from inside of them. Screaming could be heard over the gunfire and Daryl’s blood ran cold. As they rounded the corner of the wall, they were met with an open and unmanned gate. A crowd of walkers that had been drawn by the noise were closing in on the town entrance. Racing past them, the men hurried inside and closed the gate before anything else could get in. 

After securing it, Daryl turned just in time to see a wild looking man running at him with his knife drawn. In a flash, he had his own knife pulled out and stabbed the man right as he came up on him. A gun shot rang out from next to him and he turned to see another person drop a few feet away. He nodded a quick appreciation to Rick as they took off into the town. There were bodies scattered all over the streets and lawns. Daryl glanced at them quickly as he passed, praying he didn’t spot a certain blonde or any other member of their family.Some of them Daryl could recognize as being the town’s occupants but most were filthy and ragged looking. 

As they ran past a group of fallen people, a hand reached out and grabbed Daryl’s ankle, sending him toppling to the asphalt. His knife went flying out of his hand as his body collided with the road, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could recover, he felt as a body started climbing on top of him. He turned quickly and was met face to face with a deranged looking man. His teeth were yellow as he scowled down at Daryl and wrapped his hands around his throat. Daryl tried bucking the man off of him, but he was too heavy. Struggling to breathe, Daryl attempted to get his hands around the man’s throat as well but couldn’t reach, so he grabbed and scratched at his arms. Right before his vision started to blur, he saw as Rick raced up behind the man and stabbed him in the head. 

Taking Rick’s outstretched hand to help him stand, Daryl coughed as he tried to catch his breath. Bending over to pick up his dropped weapons, he noticed the gunshots had ceased. Everything was eerily quiet as they sprinted off towards their home. 

Maggie’s panicked voice sounded out through the silence, “BETH!”

Daryl’s heart plummeted as he raced towards her voice. He found her standing in the grass between their two houses along with a few members of their family. They all looked on edge and jumped when they noticed Daryl and Rick running towards them. Carl, holding Judith, ran straight to his dad as Rick cried out in relief. Daryl looked around and saw Beth nowhere in sight. 

“Daryl-,” Maggie called out as she ran to him, looking alarmed.

“Where the hell is she?” He spat out anxiously.

“She just took off looking for you.. she didn’t know if you were home yet!” She cried out as she frantically looked around her.

“YOU FUCKIN’ LET HER GO ALONE?” He yelled out. Anger was seething out of him as he turned, trying to figure out which direction to go in search of. 

Rick tried to interject, “Hey! Let’s everyone calm down! We’ll fan out-“ He was cut off when a lone scream silenced him. Daryl’s blood ran ice cold as he recognized that scream. He would know it anywhere. 

The whole group took off in the direction of Beth’s cry for help. None of them were as quick as Daryl, though. He darted ahead of them all as he silently pleaded for Beth to be okay. He had just gotten her back. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her again. 

“BETH!” He screamed out, his throat still raw from being choked. He knew he was close. Her scream hadn’t been too far off. If she had heard him, then she would have responded. Instead, he was met with silence as he pushed forward. 

Rounding the house at the corner of the street, Daryl’s eyes narrowed in on a cloaked figure hovering over a mess of blonde hair in the grass about twenty yards away. His trained hands pulled up his bow and fired off a bolt without him consciously telling them to do so. He watched as the bolt went squarely through the stranger’s head and he slumped off to the side. Dropping his bow to the ground, he raced over to Beth. As he got closer, he could see she was unconscious and a small pool of blood was staining her abdomen. 

“NO!” He cried out as he dropped next to her. “No no no no wake up baby.. please wake up,” he begged as he carefully lifted her head and tucked it into his arm. He was vaguely aware of the rest of their family crowding around them as he brought one hand down to cover the wound above her left hip. His stomach twisted in knots as the warm blood gushed around his fingers and he swallowed back the bile that threatened to overflow. His whole body trembled as he rocked her back and forth. “Come on baby.. don’t do this.. don’t leave me.”

Daryl jumped when a hand gripped onto his shoulder. He turned his head quickly, being on the defensive but not having a free hand to grab for a weapon. His eyes focused after a moment and he saw Michonne standing next to him. “Let’s get her to Doc.. he can stop the bleeding.”

Daryl was disgusted with himself that he hadn’t already thought of that and been halfway to Doc’s house by now. Instead he had sat here on the grass in a panic. He stood and gently lifted Beth with unsteady hands into his arms, trying not to jar her in any way. Cradling her head, he could feel a large bump on her right temple under her hairline. This must be the reason she was unconscious, he thought. “Please be okay.. please,” he whispered as he touched his forehead to hers.

“Michonne, you get Daryl to Doc. The rest of us will go through the town, house by house. Make sure all these bastards are dead and take care of everyone else before they turn,” Rick announced to the group. “Carl, take Judith to Doc’s house as well. She needs to be safe off the streets.” 

Everyone dispersed without argument. There was no time for it. Daryl followed behind Michonne, while Carl followed up the rear with Judith. Everything was deathly silent as they made their trek down the street. No walkers or strange people came up on them. Nobody cried out for help. 

Right as they were walking onto the porch of the doc’s house, a small moan piped up from Daryl’s arms. His heart seemed to stop and goosebumps popped up all over him. His breathing became shallow with his fear to look down at the woman in his arms. A brief memory of his nightmare about Beth turning into a walker flashed into his mind and he slammed his eyes shut, terrified to face reality. 

A hand clasped onto the front of his shirt and he felt his body tremble. He needed to look down. He needed to find out if his life ended back on that lawn a few streets back. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his head and opened his eyes. His vision was filled with her pearly blues as she looked up to him, disoriented. 

He gasped as it set in that she was alive and he lifted her closer in to his chest, kissing her forehead. He felt as a tear slid down his face at his relief. 

“Hey,” he whispered down to her when he lifted his head to look back into her eyes. She was still disoriented, but Daryl could see the pain written across her face. “Don’t try to move, okay? I gotcha. We’re goin’ see the doc now.. he’s gonna take care of ya.”

Beth nodded slightly as she closed her eyes and Daryl tried not to panic. She was just injured and needed the rest. If she stayed conscious, it would be more painful for her. She was still breathing, so he would focus on that for right now. 

Michonne pounded on the door and it was answered almost immediately, with Doc wielding a machete. After seeing the small group on the porch, he ushered them all in and locked the door behind them. 

“Is it all over?” He asked with wide eyes. 

Michonne nodded her head, “Looks like it.”

“Who the hell were those people?”

“No idea-“ she had started to reply but was cut off by Daryl.

“Can we get some fucking help over here,” he yelled over to them from where he was setting Beth on one of the patient beds. 

Siddiq rushed over, having not realized the situation due to his shock from the attack. He quickly started to assess Beth’s injuries as Daryl told him, “She was stabbed here,” he said removing his hand slightly from her wound. He quickly replaced it when blood continued to seep out. Siddiq retrieved his med bag and started rummaging around for everything he would need as Daryl continued, “And she’s got a big ass knot right here,” he said pointing to her temple area.

“Okay.. let me get started and I’ll let you know if I need any help,” he told Daryl calmly. 

“Nah I’m stayin’,” Daryl argued.

“Look Daryl, I got this okay. I need you guys to keep watch and make sure nobody else is going to attack,” Siddiq told him firmly. 

Daryl was about to say he wasn’t leaving Beth alone again when Michonne cut in, “Come on, Daryl.. give the doc some room to work and make sure this place is safe for Beth and Judith.”

He hated to leave her side, but he knew Michonne had been right. He couldn’t do anything more for Beth with her in this state.. but he could keep her safe. He nodded to Michonne, then looked down to Beth as he closed his eyes and willed her to be okay. He heard Carl mention that he would keep watch at the back, so he followed Michonne to the front. 

Walking out on to the porch, he was able to really take in the damage. Blood littered the street and a few walkers were ambling about, but Daryl wasn’t going to leave his post. If they came close enough, then he would kill them. If not, then Rick and the rest could get them once they made their way to this side of the town. He could see one of the guard towers had burned down and he guessed that was the smoke he had seen coming in. He noticed two of the houses close by had some town residents peeking out the windows, but nobody came outside. 

“So..,” Michonne spoke up, “baby?”

Daryl glanced over to her, confused that she was calling him that, “Huh?”

She smirked as she replied, “You called Beth baby.”

_Shit_.. he hadn’t even realized he had said that, especially in front of everyone else. 

“Oh.. uh.. yeah..” His face turned red at his admission. 

Michonne kept her grin as she asked, “So that finally happened?”

“Jesus was everybody expecting it?” Daryl didn’t like the idea of people talking about him and Beth behind his back, but it’s not like he would have admitted to anything if they had asked before. 

“Pretty much,” she shrugged her shoulders, “but it’s a good thing Daryl.” She turned to him with a sincere look on her face. “I’m happy for you.”

Daryl didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded his head in appreciation. 

“She’s gonna be okay.” Michonne reached over to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

Again, Daryl had no words, so he nodded and looked out down the road. He was trying not to expect the worst, but his nerves were still running at full force. He couldn’t lose Beth. Not again. He wouldn’t be able to survive that. And her wound.. it had been so close to the baby. What if she survived but her baby didn’t? Would she be able to recover from that, or would it send her back down that dark path from when she lost her mom and brother? He just had to keep telling himself that Siddiq was good at what he does. He had patched up people in worse off conditions. 

Taking out a cigarette, Daryl lit it and inhaled deeply. He needed to calm down. He wanted to track down and kill every one of those sons of bitches. Not being able to take off and do that, he decided to go down and kill the walkers that were getting close to the house. 

After taking out the five that were close enough, he looked down and noticed that three of them had been the strangers that invaded the town. Being able to get a better look at them now that he wasn’t in a panic, he noticed they all had a “W” carved into their forehead. Thinking it was strange as hell, but not knowing what it meant, he brushed it off and returned to the porch to wait with Michonne. 

They waited in silence as Daryl smoked another cigarette. He was almost done with it when they saw Rick and the group making their way down the street. They cleared out all of the houses along the way before arriving at the clinic. 

“Found a few more of them that were injured.. took them out and got the walkers too,” Rick informed them. 

“Beth?” Maggie questioned nervously. 

Right as the words left her mouth, the door opened and Siddiq came out. He rubbed his hands together as he looked around, stopping at Daryl’s eager stare. “She’s going to be okay.” There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone present. “I suspect she has a concussion, but after a few days rest, she should be good as new.”

“And the baby?” Daryl questioned nervously. 

“Heartbeat is still strong. The cut wasn’t too deep, so I was able to sew it up without any complications. I think the baby will be just fine.” 

“Can we see her?” Maggie piped up before Daryl could ask. 

Siddiq looked around to all of them before hesitantly answering, “Yes.. but I wouldn’t recommend you all at once. She needs to rest, so just a few for now.”

Before Daryl could move, Maggie reached out and grabbed his hand. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she understood everything and she was good with it. She tilted her head towards the door and he moved with her as she made her way inside. 

When they reached Beth’s bed, they each took up a spot on either side of her. She looked bad. Her face was pale and there were blood stains on her clothes, but she was breathing. For now, that would have to be good enough. Doc said she would be okay. 

When Maggie reached down and grabbed one of Beth’s hands in her’s, Beth’s eyes opened slightly. The relief poured out of Daryl at the sight of her beautiful blues. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and grabbing her other hand. Beth shifted her eyes and feebly smiled when she spotted Daryl. A look of pain crossed her face as she became more alert. 

“You’re alright.. you’re gonna be okay. Doc fixed you up good,” he told her, not wanting her to exert herself. 

“The baby..,” her voice was weak with exhaustion and worry.

“Doc said the baby is just fine,” he smiled at her reassuringly.

Her eyes closed softly as her face relaxed, and she squeezed Daryl and Maggie’s hands before falling back to sleep. Neither of them moved from their spot next to Beth for a long while. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew that was a long one for me lol. Sorry it took so long to update. I was stuck for a few days before I decided to scrap the chapter and start over. Thankfully, the words flowed easily after that. Thank you again for the reviews and kudos!


	16. You’ll take care of me

Beth stayed at the clinic for nearly a week, with Daryl and Maggie taking shifts to sit with her. Everybody had seemed to catch on to the situation between him and Beth when Maggie pulled him into the clinic with her that first day. It was a nice relief to not have the awkward conversations about it, for them to just all find out at once. Everyone had been too wound up from the attack to poke at him about it or ask questions. They just accepted it and moved on. 

It turned out that one of the intruders had escaped out of the walls but was injured and didn’t get far before being tracked down by Michonne. After she captured him and brought him back, it was discovered that the group called themselves Wolves. Their entire goal was to hop from town to town, destroying anything alive in their path. They had no reason other than to cause chaos to an already hectic world.Carol had been the one to kill him in the end. 

Between cleaning up the blood and bodies in Alexandria, fortifying the walls, keeping watch, and sitting with Beth, Daryl was exhausted. At the end of the third day, Beth had finally been able to stay conscious for more than a few moments at a time. Since then, she had steadily improved and Doc had said the baby continued to appear strong as well. 

They had been so worried about Beth at first. Even after Siddiq had assured them that she only needed rest, Daryl kept a close watch on her, making sure her chest would rise and fall at a normal rate. He hadn’t been able to calm his anxiety until the first time she woke up and smiled at him. He hadn’t hesitated to lean down and kiss her lips, her smile never leaving her face. Since then, she had been in and out of her sleep and Daryl had been able to rest easier. 

Daryl walked into the clinic to relieve Maggie after coming off of guard duty when he could hear both girls talking. He could hear the smiles in their voices as they chatted away and his heart swelled. As he opened the privacy curtains to Beth’s patient cubby, he was surprised to see Beth sitting up in bed talking excitedly with Maggie. It was the first time he had seen her so alert since the attack.

“What’s goin’ on?” He asked curiously, hiding the smile that was trying to form at the corner of his mouth. 

Beth turned when she heard his voice and her face lit up even more with a smile that she kept just for him. It still baffled him that anybody would look at him like that, especially someone like Beth. He still didn’t feel like he deserved it; he had failed to protect her so many times, but he would spend the rest of his life trying to get her to keep smiling at him like that. 

“Doc said I’m officially off of bed rest! I can go home!” She told him, full of excitement. 

That news didn’t bring relief to Daryl, though. “Is he sure?” He questioned, full of concern. “It’s barely been a week.. Shouldn’t you get more rest or somethin’?” 

Beth playfully rolled her eyes at him. “Daryl, I’m fine.. We’re fine,” she told him as she rubbed her small hand over the baby. “Besides, I want to get out there and help fix the place up. I want to do my part.”

“Hell no,” he told her, a bit more forcefully than he intended. Beth’s face fell, but he had to make her understand. “Ain’t no way you’re gettin’ out of here just to go put more stress on your body. We can take care of that.” He was annoyed that physical work had been her first thoughts when it should have been going home to get more rest. He had half a mind to go find Siddiq and chew his ass out for giving Beth the all-clear.

“You ain’t the boss of me, Daryl Dixon,” she retorted as her eyes squinted in aggravation. “Doc said I’m fine, so I’m fine. I want to help.”

“What ya need to do is-“ He started to fuss, but was interrupted by Maggie finally stepping in. 

“Hey! You two need to cool it.”

Daryl looked to her in disbelief. She had been smiling when he walked in, so she had obviously known the news already. She should have agreed with him that Beth needed more rest.

“You’re cool with this?” He asked her incredulously.

Maggie looked back and forth between him Beth before sighing, “Daryl, Siddiq said she was okay. If she wants to help out, it’s her choice. Everybody has been working together to get this place back to normal. Besides, there’s not a whole lot left to do. Beth can handle it.” Beth jutted her chin out as if she had proved her point with her sister’s approval.

“Fuckin’ unbelievable,” Daryl muttered as he turned and walked out of the clinic without looking back. He was beyond pissed. He knew he wasn’t the boss of Beth, like she had said, but there wasn’t any reason why she needed to go right into physical labor. He wouldn’t have had any problem with it if she hadn’t been injured, but she was. Nobody was expecting her to get out and help them. She should take the chance to get as much rest as possible. 

He had been so tired when he came off of guard duty and had been looking forward to just kicking back in the chair next to Beth’s bed. He would sit with her for hours, letting her sleep when she needed it and chatting away with her when she was awake. A few times she had read him a book Carol had brought her and he would doze off to the soothing sound of her voice, always feeling guilty for falling asleep on her. She just brought out a sense of peace in him, though, and he could fully relax around her. He wouldn’t admit it, but part of him was disappointed in the fact that Beth had been released because now she could go home to her own room and he wouldn’t get as much time with her.

Since it was still kind of early in the day, and his exhaustion had been wiped away due to his anger, he decided to get more work done on the town. If he could get more stuff taken care of now, then that would be less that Beth could try to tend to. Spotting Rick and Glenn fortifying the gate, he made his way over to assist them.

“Need some help?” He asked as he walked up.

Glenn turned and looked at him curiously. “I thought you were going to sit with Beth?”

“Was.. Doc’s releasing her,” he grumbled as he moved to help Rick hold up a sheet of metal that Glenn had been screwing into the gate to make it heavier and more secure.

“Hey that’s great!” Rick said as he readjusted himself to allow Daryl some room to help with the weight. 

“Would be,” he told them, his voice still full of annoyance, “but she wants to get straight to work helpin’ fix up the town.” He just knew Rick and Glenn would have his back on this. 

“Really?” Glenn asked in disbelief, then shrugged his shoulder, “Well, I mean, if Doc says she’s okay-“

“Nah, it’s bullshit,” he said in irritation, “ain’t no reason for it. Girl should take the chance to rest.”

“You didn’t tell her that, did you?” Rick questioned him. 

“Hell yeah I did. She wasn’t too happy ‘bout it either, but somebody had to say it.”

Rick chuckled and Daryl cut him some eyes, ready to tell him off, but Rick spoke first. “You wanna know something I learned early on with Lori?” 

Daryl really didn’t want to go through this. He hadn’t come out here for relationship advice. He just wanted someone to agree with him that Beth needed to take more time off. Before he could say as much, Rick was already speaking again. 

“Don’t ever tell a woman what they can’t do. It’s just gonna make ‘em wanna do it that much more,” he said with a smile on his face. Glenn laughed as he nodded his head in agreement. 

“Man, shut up,” Daryl groused as he hefted the sheet of metal to support it better. He didn’t want to talk about this with them, and he knew he would just get more pissed off if they continued to pick at him about it. Knowing they had reached their limit with Daryl, the two men smiled at each other and silently agreed to drop the subject. 

Daryl worked along side Rick and Glenn for the rest of the day, putting all of his energy into it. He tried his best to stay focused on their tasks, but he couldn’t help himself from occasionally looking around to see if he could spot Beth out and about. He would leave her alone and let her work if that’s what she wanted, but he didn’t have to be happy about it. He didn’t see her at any point, though, and he was relieved to think that she might be taking his advice. 

When the men were finally tuckered out at the end of the day, they made their way back to their homes, ready to crawl into bed. Alexandria was almost fully repaired, plus a few extra fortifications. Hopefully it could withstand a stronger attack now. 

Daryl contemplated going to check on Beth before he went home, but ultimately decided she was probably just as pissed at him as he had been at her. Instead, he went home and jumped straight in the shower to wash off all of the sweat and grime from the day. The hot water helped to calm his nerves and by the time he was getting out, he had started to feel guilty for treating Beth the way he had. Rick had been right, he shouldn’t have fussed at Beth and told her what to do like she was a child. He was just concerned for her, is all. Hoping she would give him the chance to explain himself tomorrow, he grabbed a quick bite to eat before retiring to his room for the night. He collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit his pillow. 

A few hours later, a light tapping sound brought him out of his sleep instantly. He sat up and looked around the room as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, trying to find the cause of the sound. When the tapping repeated itself, he realized it was coming from his window. Switching on the bedside lamp as he stood, he made his way over to open the curtains cautiously. Beth’s sad face was looking back at him, and he quickly unlocked the window and opened it. 

“Beth? What the hell you doin’ out there?”

“Front door was locked,” she mumbled as she shrugged her shoulder. “Can I come in?”

“Course,” Daryl offered her his hand and she took it as she climbed over the windowsill. Once she was in, he shut the window and turned to look at her. Noticing the dry tear streaks down her cheeks, he immediately felt like a jerk for how he had treated her. 

“Hey,” he whispered as he reached a hand out to cup her cheek. “I’m sorry.. ‘bout earlier.”

Beth shook her head before leaning into his touch. “It’s not that.. I just had a bad dream is all. Wanted to be near you.” 

Daryl nodded his head in understanding, relieved that he hadn’t been the cause of her crying and proud that he still brought comfort to her.

“Can I stay here.. with you?” She asked him timidly.

Bringing his hand down from her cheek, Daryl grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the bed. “Come on,” he told her gently. Pulling the blankets back, they climbed in and Daryl lifted his arm up so Beth could lay her head on his shoulder. Daryl felt her relax into him and he was grateful that he could do this for her. 

“Wanna talk about it?” He asked her softly.

Beth took a moment before replying, “I was back at Grady..” Daryl’s heart sunk. He desperately hoped Beth wouldn’t live with this nightmare for the rest of her life. “... only this time, it wasn’t Gorman. It was that Wolf that attacked me.” Her voice trembled as she spoke. 

Daryl tilted his head to catch Beth’s attention. When she looked up to him, he gently laid his hand on her cheek and stroked it as he whispered, “Baby.. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here that day.” Her cheeks turned pink at the nickname and Daryl felt himself blush as well. It had just slipped out, but he realized he really liked saying it.

“It’s not your fault, Daryl.. bad things happen. What matters is that we are still here for each other,” she told him as she propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. 

Daryl nodded his head before softly saying, “I’m here.”

Beth smiled before leaning down and kissing him. His whole body relaxed at the feel of her lips on his. Bringing a hand up to cup her face, he deepened the kiss, desperate to stay connected to her. Her tongue danced across his as he moaned into her mouth. Before he knew it, Beth was throwing her leg over him and straddling his lap, never breaking the kiss. The pressure of her on top of him sent a a jolt of electricity through his body and he reached down to cup her ass, pulling her down tighter to his center. She hummed at the contact and rolled her hips on him again, taking his breath away. Her hands reached up and gripped his hair as she pulled him impossibly closer before her mouth left his, only for her to start licking and sucking a trail across the pulse in his neck. His hips jerked up at the feeling, and he could feel as his length pressed into the softness of her curves. 

It hit him like a ton of bricks, and he reluctantly pulled away from her. He had to get control of himself. She trusted him to go slow with her, but everytime they kissed, he always seemed to push further. 

“Beth.. Beth.. we gotta stop,” he breathed out, trying to regain control of himself. 

She pulled back to look at him, and he could see her pupils were blown wide. She took a deep breath before shakily whispering, “I don’t want to.”

“You said you wanted us to take it slow.. if we keep doing this, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself,” he told her truthfully, feeling like a creep. He should be able to control his body, but anytime she touched him, it was like he went on autopilot. His body craved everything she would give him. 

“No, Daryl.. that’s what I mean. I don’t want you to stop. I want you,” her body trembled with desire as she tentatively rolled her hips across his hardness again, causing them both to suck in a breath at the contact. 

“Beth.. I don’t want ya to do this just ‘cause yer upset.. don’t want ya to regret it.” He breathed deeply as his body shook with the desire to push back up into her. He wanted her so bad, but he wouldn’t do anything if he thought she might not be in the right state of mind. 

One side of her mouth quirked up as she leaned down to press a quick peck to his mouth. “I don’t want to wait Daryl.. anything could happen to us at any point in time, and I just want to feel your love. I want to show you mine. We deserve that much.. To be able to show each other how we feel.” She pressed another kiss to his lips before she pulled back with a nervous look on her face. “Unless.. you just don’t want to.. if it feels weird or something,” she said as she looked down at her pregnant belly. 

Not wanting her to think he found her any less desirable just because she was pregnant, Daryl pushed his hips up so she could feel his desire press into her center. “It feel like I don’t want you, girl?” He asked her gently, and she blushed as she shook her head no. “I just don’t want you to feel pressured or somethin’.. don’t wanna screw this up.” He ran his hands down her pajama-clad thighs, craving more contact with her and feeling this was the safest route for him to take. 

Beth closed her eyes at the contact and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, Daryl could see her pupils were still blown wide with desire. “I want this Daryl.. I know you’ll take care of me.”

Daryl let her words sink in for a moment. She was ready. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn’t lying. Nervousness was radiating from every pore in her body, but she was telling him the truth. He would just need to go slow with her, let her know he wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want. 

He sat up with her still on his lap and he pulled his shirt off. When he reached for her pajama top, he stopped and looked her in the eyes. “Promise me you’ll tell me if ya want to stop, okay? I ain’t gonna get mad.. I swear,” he told her in complete seriousness. He needed her to understand that much. 

Beth bit her bottom lip as she nodded her head, “I promise.”

Daryl lifted the shirt over her head and took a moment to look at her body. “You’re so fuckin’ beautiful,” he whispered as his hand came up to cup her breast. Beth closed her eyes as she sighed at the contact. Feeling emboldened by her reaction, he leaned down and took her other breast in his mouth. Beth moaned as his tongue traced over her nipple and she pushed down into his hard length. He switched sides, wanting to taste her other breast and see if he could get the same reaction out of her again. This time when she rolled her hips down, he brought an arm around her waist so he could push up into her as well. He had never been so turned on before. Every move she made, every sound that he pulled from her, had his whole body winding up tight. He felt like he could come just from her rolling across him the way she was, but he needed to control himself. This was for her. He wanted her to feel good. 

He rolled them over so that she was on her back, and her legs instantly went around his waist as he leaned in to kiss her deeply. Her breasts were amazing, but nothing compared to the feel of her lips on his. Her arms wrapped around his hips and she grabbed his ass, pulling him into her. From this angle, the sensation of his dick pressing perfectly into her made him see stars. He pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against hers as he gasped for air.

“God, Daryl, you feel so good,” she whispered breathlessly before pushing up into him again. 

Knowing he would probably come soon if she kept that up, Daryl sat back on his knees. He pulled slightly on her pajama pants as he looked into her eyes. “Can I?”

She nodded her head as she lifted slightly off the bed, giving him better access to pull them down along with her panties. Once he had them off, he took a moment to really look at her. He wanted to memorize every inch; every curve, freckle, stretch mark, scar.. all of it. He must have been staring too long because Beth’s look of desire turned to nervousness as she moved to cover herself up. 

“No.. dont,” he said as he moved her arms gently to the side. She looked at him with a question in her eyes, but before she could say anything, he whispered out to her. “Fuckin’ perfect.” 

A blush crept up her neck and he knew he had said the right thing when she smiled shyly at him. He leaned forward and kissed her deeply before pulling back and trailing kisses down her neck. He brought one hand up to palm at her breast, lightly pinching her nipple, and her head rolled back into the pillow. He smiled into the crook of her neck as he nipped at the skin under his teeth, pleased at causing such a reaction from her. He worked his hand slowly down her body, touching her lightly with his finger tips and causing goosebumps to pop up all over her. Trailing over her hip bone and down her thigh, as he felt as she shivered from the light tickles. Bringing his face up from her neck, he kissed her again before resting his forehead on hers as his hand was coming back up her thigh, running a trail up the inside of it this time. He stopped right before touching her center and questioned softly, “This alright?”

Beth took a deep breath before nodding the slightest bit and biting her lower lip again. 

“Hey,” he leaned in and kissed her sweetly, “I ain’t gonna hurt ya.. but if you don’t want me to, I won’t.” 

She brought both hands up around his neck, pulling him closer and whispering, “I know,” right before kissing him. As her tongue slid into his mouth, he felt as one of her hands left his neck and slid between their bodies. Laying her hand on top of his, she pulled them up and placed him right at her entrance before returning her hand to his neck. “I trust you,” she told him between kisses.

Feeling his own bundle of nerves building up because he wanted so badly to make this good for her, he pushed forward slowly. She breathed out a sigh of pleasure as soon as his fingers slipped into her dripping folds. 

“Jesus.. you’re so wet,” he gasped into her mouth. Beth hummed her reply before tilting her head back and to the side. Catching on to what she wanted, he brought his lips down to her neck and began sucking and kissing on her as his fingers worked their way slowly in and out of her. When her hips started moving at a faster rhythm, he moved his fingers quicker. He ducked his head lower to catch her breast in his mouth and she moaned loudly. Feeling his hardness pressing into his jeans was nearly painful, so he rolled his hips and pushed into her thigh, seeking the friction. It sent a wave of pleasure through his body that had him gasping for air. He had never felt this good before, and he wasn’t even inside of her. 

“I’m so close,” Beth said between hurried breaths. Daryl rubbed his thumb into her wetness before bringing it up to her swollen nub, hoping to help her reach that peak. As soon as he started rubbing circles over it, her whole body contracted as she released a deep moan. She tightened around his fingers as he pushed his length into her thigh, nearly coming just from the sounds she was making and the pulsating of her body. 

He slowed his movements to help ease her down from her high, her body twitching from the aftershocks. He kissed her hard, wanting her to feel all of the emotions coursing through him. She responded eagerly, her tongue sliding into his mouth as soon as their lips connected. 

Reaching down with shaky hands, Beth tugged down on Daryl’s jeans. When she couldn’t push down any further, he sat up and kicked them the rest of the way off with his boxers. Beth’s eyes went wide as she looked at him, and he felt nerves prickle over his body. He now understood Beth’s previous actions on trying to cover herself up, as he was unsure if the way she was looking at him was good or bad. 

“You’re so big,” she whispered, “are you sure you’ll fit?”

Daryl felt as the blush crept up his neck. He had never thought much of himself, but if she thought he was big, then he would let that go to his head. He smiled as he leaned down to kiss her sweetly. She sighed into the kiss, and he felt as her worry slipped away when her legs instantly wrapped around his waist. Her movement brought him right to her entrance, and he could feel her heat radiating out to him. He craved that warmth desperately and his body shook with the desire for him to push forward so that he could feel that heat around himself. He had to make sure she was ready, though, so he brought his hand up to cup her cheek. 

“Are you sure?” He questioned her, looking into her eyes to find any doubt. It might kill him, but he would pull back if he sensed even the smallest amount from her. 

Beth’s eyes twinkled as she smiled up at him, “Daryl.. you have been so amazing.. I want this, really.”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips before pulling back. “If you-“

“I know.. but I’m not going to change my mind,” she said as she cut him off.

Daryl nodded his head and reached down to line himself up with her entrance. He took a deep breath as he shook, trying to calm his nerves. He had never wanted this as badly as he did now, and it had never been anywhere near as important. He pushed himself forward, and he felt his toes curl at the tightness that enveloped him as he saw stars popping up behind his eyelids. His head dropped to the crook of her neck as he cursed out loud from the pleasure. The tightness wrapped around him felt so amazing, he nearly came the second he entered her. He sat still for a moment to collect himself, and when he pulled back, Beth’s eyes were squeezed shut. A single tear was making its way down the side of her face. 

“Oh shit..,” he panicked, moving to pull out of her. “Fuck, Beth.. I’m-“

“No!” She interrupted, opening her eyes and reaching up to grab him by the neck and pull him back down to her. “It’s okay.. I’m okay.. I just need a second to get used to it.” 

Daryl wanted to call it off right there. He had never wanted to hurt Beth, especially not like this. “You’re crying,” he told her as he reached up and wiped her tear with his thumb. 

Beth turned her face into his hand and breathed him in. “It just burned a little bit at first.. I’m okay now. I promise,” she told him, opening her eyes so he could see her honesty. 

He took a moment to make sure she was telling the truth before he nodded and leaned down to kiss her. He went slow and kissed her deeply before moving his hips to pull out of her slowly. He trembled with desire as his body ached to move faster, but he wanted this to be perfect for Beth. He wanted her to know that he could be a good enough man to take care of her. 

After cautiously moving in and out of her for a few moments, he felt as Beth’s hips started to rise to meet his. The new angle had him going deeper in her and his eyes wanted to roll to the back of his head. Her movements started to go faster, so Daryl picked up his speed to match hers. Beth hiked her legs up and pushed her feet into Daryl’s ass to help pull him in even closer. With her legs spread wider, it allowed him to push in just a little deeper, and that brought him all the way to the base of his hardness. Knowing he was completely inside of Beth had him moaning out her name in pleasure. 

She drug her nails down his back and the sensation had him shivering with excitement. “Faster Daryl.. I’m gonna come again,” she begged of him and he complied, picking up speed. The thought of feeling her orgasm around his dick made his blood pump even quicker. He felt as her walls started to contract around him and her fluids started to gush with every push and pull he made. Her head rolled back into the pillow behind her head and her back arched as she moaned his name. Nothing has ever felt like this. Hearing his name fall from her lips while she was in such a state of ecstasy had him reaching his peak as well. His body went stiff as he released himself inside of her, gasping her name.

The whole world went quiet and all he could hear was Beth whispering out to him “I love you I love you I love you.” He had never heard a sweeter sound as he came down from his high. He was breathing heavily from all of the excitement, and his body was exhausted. Realizing he had settled all of his weight on top of her, he started to raise up from his position, but Beth quickly wrapped her arms around him.

“No.. don’t move,” she said breathlessly.

“You okay?” He asked, looking to her face to see if he had hurt her.

“Perfect,” she smiled sleepily, “I just like the way this feels.. it’s comforting.”

Daryl smiled back and sat still for a few moments, before pulling out of her and laying on the side of her. Beth gave him a pouty face which made him chuckle. 

“Sorry, just felt like I was crushing you.. ‘sides, this is much better.” He grabbed Beth around the middle and turned her to face the opposite way before pulling her back side against him so he could wrap his arm around her and hold her. He snuggled in as close as he could before leaning down and kissing below her ear. 

“Didn’t hurt ya, did I?” He had a feeling that he hadn’t, but he had to make absolutely sure. Technically, she wasn’t a virgin, but this would have been her first positive experience and he hoped it had been good for her. 

“Not at all,” she smiled sweetly as she looked back over her shoulder at him. “Thank you.”

Feeling more comfortable now that he was certain she was okay, he quirked one side of his lips up before playfully telling her, “Anytime.”

Beth gave a small laugh as he leaned down to kiss her on the lips before settling back on the pillow and wrapping himself around her. 

His body and mind were exhausted, and he was just about to fall asleep when he heard Beth whisper out to him. “I love you.”

He had just enough energy to squeeze her gently around the middle as he placed a small kiss to her shoulder blade and whispered back, “Love you too, girl.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve been really busy, plus this was a pretty long chapter for me. I also had the idea for my other story “I’m scared, Merle” and wanted to get started on that before I forgot about it lol, so check that out if you haven’t already 😊. I hope you enjoyed, and please leave reviews!


	17. I ain’t mad at that

Daryl woke up to the most peaceful warmth surrounding him. His body felt more rested than it had in a long time, and he wanted nothing more than to curl deeper into the warmth next to him. It was still dark out, but his body was used to waking up early and getting started before everyone else.Figuring he deserved to take a little time to himself today, he wrapped his arm around Beth’s middle, resting his hand on her bump. Right as he started to drift off to sleep, he felt a little thump against his hand. Lifting his head up to peek over her shoulder, he looked down at his hand right as another thump kicked at it. A smile spread across his face at having felt the baby kick for the first time. 

Feeling the baby, though, brought his concerns to the forefront of his mind. He and Beth hadn’t discussed what his role would be in the baby’s life. He was terrified at the idea of being a father, but he would try his hardest for them. He loved Beth more than he had ever loved another person, and that love extended to her baby. He would be whatever she wanted him to be for the child. A father, a father figure, or just the guy who loved both of them. He couldn’t ever picture his life without them, and he hoped Beth felt the same way. 

Beth stirred and stretched her body out, arching back into him. Her naked body pressed up against his felt like heaven. Her smoothness perfectly fitting against his rough edges. The girl had no idea just how amazing she was. She pressed her head back against his chest and he leaned down to kiss her temple and breathe her in deeply.

“Morning,” she smiled up to him through sleepy eyes as she yawned.

“Hey,” he whispered back to her. “How you feeling?”

Beth rolled over so she could face him. “Perfect.”

“Not sore or nothing, huh?” He asked as he drug his forefinger up her thigh and across her hip, feeling his own body come to life at the contact.

“Nope,” She smiled as she reached up to pull him down to her, sliding her tongue into his mouth as soon as their lips connected. 

Daryl rolled over so he was on top of her. “Good,” he smiled back as he deepened the kiss. He could wake up to this every morning.

—————————

Exhausted from spending time getting tangled up in the sheets, Daryl and Beth stayed tucked away, napping off and on throughout the morning. At one point, Beth woke up to find Daryl propped up on his elbow and looking down at her with the softest expression on his face.

“What?” She asked, feeling shy at being stared at.

“Nothin’.. just thinkin’..” he gave a nervous look that had her coming out of her slumber.

“About what?” She asked, turning to face him completely.

“I uh.. I wanted to talk to you about somethin’,” he looked away, unsure of how to approach the subject. 

Concerned at his demeanor, Beth sat up next to him and took his hand in her lap. “Hey.. talk to me about what?”

“The baby...” 

Beth’s shoulders slumped as she released a slow exhale, placing one of her hands over the baby. “You don’t.. want..”

“Hey.. hey..,” he said, gently grabbing her chin and turning her to look back at him. She had the start of tears forming in her eyes. “No baby.. it ain’t that, alright?” Beth nodded her head, but didn’t look convinced. “I was just wondering.. where do I stand when it comes to the baby?”

Beth sniffled and tilted her head, “What do you mean?”

“Well.. like.. what would I be to it?”

Beth’s face softened as she understood his worry. “Like.. would you be it’s daddy?”

Hearing those words come out of her mouth had the air leaving Daryl’s lungs. He hadn’t realized just how much it would affect him to hear her refer to him as a daddy. He nervously bit on his lip as he nodded his head, keeping his eyes down.

“I would like it.. if you were. But if it’s not something you’re ready for.. then I understand.” She gave his hand a squeeze, and he found he finally had the courage to look over to her.

“I am.. ready. I want both of ya, forever,” he told her, hoping she could see the honesty on his face. “But I want it to only know me.. I don’t want it to know about Gorman.. if that’s okay with you.” 

“Yeah?” Beth’s face lit up at his words. When he nodded, she threw her arms around him and he could feel her smiling into his neck.

“Daryl.. that would mean so much to me. I.. I never wanted the baby to know about him.”

Having her pressed against him made him think about earlier that morning. “I felt the baby move.. when you were sleeping.” He whispered into her hair, happy to have this matter settled. 

Beth pulled back and looked up to him with a smile and unmistakable desire written on her face. “Guess she already knows who loves us,” she whispered as she leaned up to kiss him deeply, sitting up and throwing a leg across his lap to straddle him. 

“She?” He questioned, not knowing how she could know. But it’s not like he had extensive knowledge in this area, anyway.

“Just a feeling,” she whispered between kisses, grinding her center across him.

Daryl instantly felt the blood rush to his lower half as he got hard, cupping Beth’s face in his hands. His whole body felt spent, but he could go again for her. He wasn’t sure if he would ever have enough of her and he would take every bit she would offer. 

“You ready to go again?” He asked between kisses. “Don’t ya need a break or something?”

Beth reached between them, grabbing his hard length and sliding it easily into her wetness, causing them both to moan at how sensitive they were.

“Must be the hormones,” she chuckled as she leaned in to kiss him.

“I ain’t mad at that,” he joked back as he grabbed her ass to help her rock back and forth, enjoying this new position of her riding him while he was propped against the headboard. 

—————————

A few months later, Beth’s heart felt like it had been ripped out of her chest when she found out Daryl had been sneaking around behind her back. He would tell her that he was going out on a run but would leave his bag behind and stay gone all day, mysteriously showing up right at night fall. She had been too upset to mention it at first, afraid to hear the cold truth that Daryl didn’t find her attractive anymore. 

Today made the third time this week alone that he had gone on a “run”. He had kissed her sweetly earlier that morning before saying he would be out late. She couldn’t help but finally question him as to why he suddenly increased his outings. He just shook his head and said there were things he needed to pick up for people. 

She made it a point to hang around the gate all afternoon in order to see the group return. It was about an hour before sundown when Maggie came to try to talk her into going to have dinner with her. 

“I’m not goin’ in yet, Maggie. I have to see something.” She told her sister, trying not to sound heartbroken. She really wanted to be wrong, so that she could chalk it up to crazy pregnancy hormones. 

“Come on, Bethy.. you need to get off your feet. You been out here all afternoon,” Maggie tried to convince her to follow her.

“No.. There’s something I need to see..” 

“Daryl’s fine, Beth. He’s with the group. You’re worrying over nothing.. you know he always comes back to you.”

Those words brought tears to her eyes and her heart broke because now she wasn’t sure those words rang true anymore. She turned to face Maggie as she wrapped her arms around her large bump, trying to hold the tears in. 

“Yeah but for how much longer?” She questioned her sister. 

Maggie’s face turned to confusion, “Bethy.. that man won’t let anything stop him from coming home to you,” she moved to comfortingly put her arms around Beth’s shoulders.

“That’s not..” She had started to correct Maggie, but the sound of an engine rumbled through the air and a few seconds later, the gate was being pulled open to allow the run crew in. A truck pulled in and stopped right past the gate entrance and Glenn, Sasha, Abraham, and Rick climbed out. 

Beth felt as the tears finally escaped down her cheeks as she turned to Maggie, her heart shattering at the confirmation that Daryl had never been out with the run crew in the first place.

“He’s cheating on me, Maggie!” She sobbed as she leaned into her sister’s shoulder. 

Maggie pulled back and grabbed Beth by the shoulders. “What are you talking about?” Maggie questioned her.

“Daryl.. he.. he’s been telling me that he’s going out on runs.. but he’s not. Half of the time, he forgets his bag.. and he’d never go on a run without his bag. And he stays gone until the sun goes down. He.. he doesn’t even wanna have sex with me anymore.. says he’s too tired. But I know what it is.. I’m too fat and he doesn’t want me anymore!” She was sobbing uncontrollably into Maggie’s shoulder by the time she finished. 

“Bethy.. no..” Maggie tried to console her, rubbing her back. “It’s not like that.”

“How would you know?” Beth hiccuped as she tried to get her breathing under control.

Maggie looked to be considering something before her shoulders slumped and she reached down to grab Beth’s hands. “Come on.. come with me.”

“No.. I’m going to stand right here and make sure he doesn’t come through these gates.. he’s not going to lie to me and just say he came back after everyone else!” Beth stomped her foot, her sadness turning to anger.

“He’s not out there, Beth,” Maggie shook her head, and Beth felt her heart drop. Apparently her sister knew something she didn’t. 

“You know where he is.. don’t you?” Beth had never felt so betrayed by the two people she loved most when Maggie nervously nodded her head. 

“Come on.. I’ll show you.”

Beth allowed herself to be pulled along, lost in thought as she questioned why her own sister would help Daryl lie and sneak around behind her back. Maybe Maggie hadn’t wanted them to be together all along, so she was just letting him betray her so they could break up. It was just so cruel, though. They were starting a family together. Why would either of them do this to her? They should have both had the balls to just tell her so she could move on with her life. 

When Maggie stopped walking, Beth looked up and seen they were standing in front of Aaron’s house. Beth looked to Maggie in surprise. She had expected to end up at one of the single women in the towns houses. 

“Maggie.. is.. is Daryl gay? Did I turn him gay?!” She questioned in disbelief. 

Maggie chuckled as she shook her head. “I don’t think it works like that, Bethy. Daryl loves Aaron... but like a brother. Just.. come on.” 

She pulled Beth’s hand towards the garage of Aaron’s home. Going in through the side door, she pulled Beth up the stairs towards the empty storage area that sat above the garage. Beth could hear some movement behind the door as Maggie lifted her hand to knock. A moment later, it opened and Daryl’s face turned from casual at the site of Maggie, to shock as he saw Beth standing behind her. 

“Mags.. what the hell?” He questioned as he looked back and forth between them like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Don’t be mad. I tried to distract her, but she saw the run crew come back. She thinks you’re cheating on her.” Maggie raised her hands to show she had no part in revealing anything to Beth. 

Daryl looked at Beth and noticed how distraught she appeared. His face fell as he realized what must have been going through her head. Before he could say anything, Beth started shaking her head, unsure of what was going on. 

“Just tell me the truth, Daryl. If you don’t want me anymore, then just say it.” She tried to hold back the tears. She didn’t want his pity if he didn’t want her anymore. Try as she might, though, she was hurting bad and tears fell anyway. Daryl reached out to gather her in his arms and she went, craving his touch no matter how badly he was about to hurt her.

“Hey.. baby, no.. it’s nothing like that.. I.. I just wanted to surprise you,” he told her as he ran his hands up and down her back. 

Beth pulled back, confused. “Surprise me? With what?” 

Daryl shifted to the side and motioned for Beth to walk in through the door. As she walked in, her hands came up to cover her mouth as she gasped. The once-empty space had been completely transformed. She was standing in a small living room that held a couch and rocking chair with a bookshelf full of books; by the window was a piano. A kitchenette sat in one corner with a small dining table. Beth walked to one of the open doors off to the side and saw a bedroom with two dressers and a queen sized bed. A door next to that one held a small bathroom, and on the other side was a room that made the tears really start flowing. It was an empty room with plain walls, except for a white crib that sat against the back wall. 

“I wanted to have it finished before I showed you,” Daryl spoke up from behind her. She turned and saw him looking sheepishly down at the floor. “I didn’t mean to worry you.. just.. thought you deserved something good.”

“You did all of this? For us?” She asked, feeling like an idiot for ever questioning his actions. 

Daryl nodded his head as he looked up to her nervously. “I know it’s not much.. just thought we could use a space of our own.”

“It’s perfect!” She cried as she threw her arms around his neck. “I’m so sorry I doubted you! I just.. I thought you didn’t want me.. you would disappear all day.. and you said you were too tired for sex-“

Daryl kissed her to cut off her worrying, “I’m sorry.. I really have been tired, though. Been putting in a lot of work, trying to get this place ready before the baby comes.”

Beth’s shoulders slumped as she felt the guilt course through her body. “You must think I’m awful.. you were doing all of this.. and I just sat here and accused you of cheating.”

Daryl smiled as he kissed the top of her head. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere girl.. yer stuck with me.”

Beth laughed as she pulled back and wiped at her tears and blushed. “I ain’t mad at that,” she smiled as Daryl leaned down and took her breath away with a deep kiss, eliminating all of her worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I’m thinking one more chapter to wrap this all up. Thank you all so much for the love! And If you haven’t left a review yet, please do!


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